One Hell of a Reaper: Book of Discovery
by PhantomGypsy13
Summary: Following the manga arcs, Lilliana Kiliamo, who has been a maid for the Phantomhives, but is also the infamous Rogue Reaper, goes through her own journey of discovery. Whether it is unknown feelings for the least likely of people, past secrets coming into light, or old friends turning against her, she will never be the same ever again along with the people in her immortal life.
1. Presenting our Inhuman Staff

_**The following story is a semi-sequel to One Hell of Reaper. I highly encourage you to read it before reading this one. Though, it follows the same storyline as the original anime, so if you don't feel like reading the whole thing, just read the chapters based off the episodes that lead into the Book of Circus storyline.** _

* * *

**Book of Circus**

Lilliana Kiliamo has been a maid at the Phantomhive manor ever since Sebastian Michaelis and Earl Ciel Phantomhive hired her as the head maid. She helped clean up after Mey-Rin, Finnian, and Baldroy whenever they made a mess of things, but she never hated the poor servants for their messes. She knew they were trying their absolute hardest, even if it didn't seem like it. They all didn't want to disappoint the master and especially Sebastian and who could blame them? Ciel, who was only a young boy, acted much older than his age. He was mature, stoic, and cunning, just like his father before him, but sadly, he and his wife were tragically killed in a house fire. Ciel would have died too, but somehow, he survived and not only that, he survived with only an eye patch and gained a butler all dressed in black. Sebastian was different from the other servants; he was the head butler and Ciel's personal assistant. He did everything with diligence and expertise that anyone could have mistaken him for something nonhuman. Though he was an excellent butler, he was also an outstanding bodyguard for his young master. He seemed to do almost the impossible to catch a runaway item headed toward his young master or push him out of the way of danger. Although the servants could too if they truly tried, they wouldn't be able to do even half the things Sebastian could do. He was just simply one hell of a butler.

Today, just like any other day, Sebastian and Lilliana woke up early in the morning to get their work done before the young lord and the other servants woke up. They knew that if they left the early morning chores to the three bumbling servants, there was a high chance that they would make a mess of things. Even so, Sebastian was the natural early riser, mainly because he didn't really need to sleep to begin with. Lilliana, however, needed all the sleep she could get. After all, she worked two jobs: the head maid of the manor during the day and a Grim Reaper at night. Her work interfered with her sleep schedule, and being a Grim Reaper, she needed rest, meaning that she did not rise as naturally as he did. So, every morning, his very first job was to wake her, which was not an easy task.

This morning was no different. The two of them shared a room, unknown to both the young lord and the other servants, who assumed that they had separate private rooms, ever since their "relationship" grew. They would never label it, but they found comfort in each other's presence, especially at night. As he changed into his uniform, he shook her and said, "Time to wake up, Ms. Kiliamo."

She stirred a bit and muttered, "Five more minutes."

"I'm afraid I can't allow that. A butler and a maid's job starts early," he said as he shook her a bit more violently. He was luckily she responded at all since she usually was a heavy sleeper.

"Can't you just do it?" she muttered as she rolled over away from him and tried to stay asleep.

He chuckled before saying, "Well, yes, but I'd rather have some help. Besides, the quicker we finish our chores, the more time we have for . . . _other_ activities."

She slowly opened her eyes as she looked at the devilish grin that always made her smile. "You know you can't always use sex as a motivator, right?"

"But it does get you moving," he said as he watched her finally get up from bed and stretch her arms. She was still wearing her Reaper uniform (slacks, white button-down shirt, and brown vest), which meant she had a very long night at her job. All she was missing was her red heels and red spectacles that she put on the nightstand. She didn't really need them, but it was required of her. Since she was . . . _different_ , they gave her the more demanding soul quota, meaning it was very rare she was not exhausted when she returned to the manor. "Do you need me to help you change?"

She chuckled as she said, "I know that the moment I start taking clothes off, you'll swoop in and fuck me senseless. Weren't you the one who said we had chores to do?

He smirked as he said, "Very well. Then I shall leave you to your dressing. Meet me in the kitchen when you're done." He then gave her a quick kiss before leaving her side. She smiled as she finally got out of bed and walked to the closet to change into her maid uniform. Although she didn't like to wear dresses, this was tolerable. She soon removed her clothes, first the vest, then the button-down shirt. Sometimes, she would wear a corset since a certain someone liked the look on her, but this was not one of those nights. She reserved that for times when she believed she wouldn't be worked too hard. However, she stared a bit at the two marks on her body: the Mark of Lust that was placed on her lower back when she and Sebastian first had sex and the Branding Mark that her brother, Bastille, placed on her during the Jack the Ripper case. She sighed, remembering her estranged relationship with him, but quickly put on her dress before she became lost in her thoughts.

After some time, she met Sebastian in the kitchen, who was carefully ironing the newspaper for the young master while also waiting for the tea to be ready. However, both of them heard a faint noise from outside the kitchen and Sebastian could easily detect what it was. He walked to the door and noticed that on the porch was an adorable black cat. He couldn't help himself as he kneeled down to pet the beautiful creature. Cats, to him, were the most perfect creatures on Earth, and there was no arguing about it. Lilliana only rolled her eyes as she set the tea and breakfast on a rolling cart and waited for him to finish admiring the animal, which, luckily for her, didn't take this long this time.

Soon, they arrived to the young lord's bedroom and Sebastian pulled back the curtain to let sunlight in as Lilliana started pouring his tea into a cup. "Young lord, it is time to rise and greet the day," he said, observing the child sleeping soundly in his bed, or at least, _was_. However, Ciel woke up a lot quicker than Lilliana and she soon served him his tea.

He took a sip and said, "Ceylon, isn't it?"

"Spot on, as always," Sebastian said as he handed the young lord his newspaper. "I took the liberty of bringing you a Ringtons varietal this morning."

Ciel took the paper out of his hands and started to read it, hoping to find something to keep his interest, like a murder or any other heinous acts the Queen could possibly have him investigate. Once he had finished his tea and skimmed through a few articles, Lilliana quickly left the room so that Sebastian could change him. Even if he was a child, she found it rather awkward to just sit there and watch him change. However, she knew his schedule in advance: a dance lesson, which she and Sebastian were eager to watch, a lunch meeting about his Funtom Company, and then finally, an evening meeting with Mr. Cedric Brandel of the Brandel Tea Company. It was always interesting to see how meetings with the young lord would play out. Most of the time, they were just ordinary, but then there were times that the guests would actually try to assassinate the young lord to be the ruler of the underworld without any repercussions from the law. Though, every single attempt against his life has been thwarted, for obvious reasons, but people still didn't know when to give up. Lilliana wasn't given a file stating that someone would die at the manor by her Reaper superiors, but that doesn't mean that absolutely no one would die. Souls that are killed by deities are not on the To-Die list, meaning that Reapers were not scheduled to collect them

Soon, she walked to the servants' quarters, where Finnian, Mey-Rin, and Baldroy were awaiting their daily tasks. She was reluctant to say their chores since there was a high chance of them fucking it up, but she had to make them feel useful. "Listen up. Here are your tasks for today: Mey-Rin, collect and launder the bed sheets, Finny, tend to the plants in the greenhouse, and Baldroy, you will see to the bread. And Tanaka, just keep doing what you usually do," she said with a smile, watching the old man sip his tea.

"Yes, Lilliana," they said in unison.

"Listen carefully. We are expecting some guests this evening-,"

"Crickey, you know what that means, then! I'll make a special-," Bard tried to say, but was interrupted.

"What that means is that you three will stay quiet and stay out of sight unless you have received my or Sebastian's express orders. Keyword: _quietly_. Now, everyone proceed to your stations."

"Right," they said as they hurriedly proceeded with their tasks. She took a deep breath and hoped this would be the day they would actually get their jobs not only done, but done right. Once they were gone, she started working on the tasks she and Sebastian were in charge of. Luckily for her, her Reaper speed and stamina allowed her to get through a lot of the tasks quickly, like cleaning every window in the manor, sweeping dust out of every room, and polishing any silverware needed. Although Sebastian could do this as well, faster even, she knew she was helping him out since he was always called by the young master to do a certain task at random times of the day. Besides, the quicker they finished their tasks, the quicker they can perform _other_ tasks. However, she shook her head at the thought. "Dammit, Sebastian, putting these impure thoughts in my head."

"You called?" a low voice said from behind. She jumped and quickly turned around to find Sebastian.

She sighed in relief as she said, "Shit, you can't do that. You scared me half to death."

He chuckled. "Look who's talking." He looked at the silverware and smiled. "I see you proceeded with our tasks."

"W-Well, of course. We have a lot to do before our guests arrive," she said as she turned around and finished polishing the last knife and set it on the table.

"True," he said as he turned her back around so he could see her otherworldly green eyes. "But you have accomplished quite a lot while I was serving the young lord his breakfast. I think you should be rewarded."

She blushed as she looked away and said in a flustered tone, "W-Wait, right here? This early in the morning?"

"Are you protesting?" he said with a devious smirk as he guided her face back to his.

"B-But-," she said, but he soon kissed her. He expected her to pull away from him, but she soon relaxed and embraced him. However, before they could proceed further, they heard a feminine scream in the background. "I can only guess." With a sigh of annoyance, they both quickly ran to where they heard the voice come from.

They soon found themselves at the laundry room and Sebastian proceeded to open the door, "Mey-Rin, whatever-," he tried to say before he noticed a wave of soap bubbles escaping the room towards them. They moved out of the way in time, but found the whole room completely filled with bubbles and Mey-Rin seemed to be nowhere in sight.

However, with a quick shake, she revealed herself as she said in her cockney accent, "Oh Sebastian, Lilliana, there you are!"

"What happened here? Why are there bubbles everywhere?" Lilliana asked, trying to keep her composure.

"I used thirty cups of detergent like the instructions said to and it's a disaster! It doesn't make sense," she said as she presented the little box of detergent to them. The head servants looked at it carefully and then looked at each other with disappointed eyes.

Sebastian looked to her again and said in a calm voice, "Read the instructions again carefully. You'll find it is three cups, not thirty." Mey-Rin looked at it again and he was right: it showed III, but due to her poor vision, they blurred to make XXX instead.

"Honestly, being far-sighted isn't enough to excuse such foolishness," Lilliana said under her breath, but Sebastian could hear her clearly with his heightened hearing.

"No, _carelessness_ is more correct," he said to her, but then looked at Mey-Rin and continued, "Please step aside." In record time, the two of them managed to clean up all the suds on the floor, wash the sheets by hands, and hang them out to dry, all while under the loving gaze of Mey-Rin, who absolutely loved her butler superior. "There, that should sort it. Now, do you think you're capable of cleaning up the laundry room by yourself?"

"Yes I am," she said with a salute as she rushed back inside to finish the cleaning. They sighed in relief.

"You know, for some reason, the public adores silly maids. Though, they've never had to work with one to fully understand the frustration that goes along with them," Lilliana said and he laughed, but he noticed something unusual in the bubbles and she knew exactly what he saw.

"Naturally. Always when I'm busy."

* * *

Sebastian was continuing with the preparations for tonight's dinner when he saw Lilliana walk in, Death Scythe in hand. He smiled as he said, "I think it would be best if you kept that hidden. If the others saw you carrying such a weapon-,"

"I would fit right in with them," she said as she held on to it for a bit. "Besides, you'll never know when we'll need it." However, they heard a slightly less feminine yell from outside the manor and they sighed in annoyance once more. They didn't even say a word as they both ran to the greenhouse, where Finny was supposed to be tending to the roses. However, when they entered, they noticed that it was incredibly hot, practically unbearable.

"Why is it so hot in here?" Sebastian asked.

Soon, they say Finny, who was crying since he was still so very young and naïve. "I'm so sorry! The roses looked like they were about to bloom and I thought I could, you know, speed them up by lighting the stove!"

Lilliana's composure loosened, but her anger was still kept under control as she said, "Carrying a stove to the greenhouse? You must be utterly brainless-,"

"No, _brawny_ would fit better." Sebastian corrected before continuing, "There's nothing to it." In record time, he and Lilliana removed the stove and the enormous stone vases that held the dead roses outside, away from the unbearable heat inside the greenhouse. It always amazed Finny how strong the two of them were; any other human wouldn't be able to even lift one of the stone vases, let alone bring them all outside without any struggle. The same could be said for him, but his situation was unusual.

Once they were done, they sighed as Lilliana said, "That should be all of them, but it's quite unfortunate. We had planned to scent the manor with roses, but that will be impossible now."

"Finny, I expect you to finish the cleaning on your own," Sebastian said with a stern, yet calm expression to not frighten the poor boy any further.

"Y-Yes, I can," Finny said with more hope in his voice. At least he was usually a happy boy, so not much was needed to bring that jovial spark back.

As the two walked away, Sebastian said under his breath, "Goodness. Why must they vex me so?" However, she knew he wasn't talking about the servants and sighed before getting her Death Scythe ready.

* * *

After a bit of time, they walked into the kitchen, ready to prepare the dinner for tonight with the little time they had left. Lilliana had to wash something off her dress and stitch up the hole it made, which made Sebastian a bit sad to see. They planned to serve a freshly caught pheasant with champagne to perfectly pair it. Luckily, Sebastian was an excellent cook and arguably Lilliana was too, but he was superior by far. After all, he had to be a jack of all trades due to the servants' incompetence. Although she too cleaned up their messes, she was more in charge of cleaning since it wasn't too demanding for her. Being a Reaper, she had to separate herself from humanity, meaning she was not taught much of what made a human special, such as gardening and cooking. Demons, on the other hand, are very involved in human lives to know what makes them tick, meaning they picked up on certain skills.

Though, they were reminded that some servants needed to learn said skills as they heard a massive explosion behind them in the kitchen and Baldroy yelling and coughing from the smoke. "Why am I not surprised," Lilliana said as the two head servants walked to the "chef" of the manor with a flamethrower in his hand. "Let's hear it then. You might as well explain yourself."

"Well, I was thinking that since we had guests coming and all, we should treat them to a new menu, all special-like. Plus, I got this new toy from back home and wanted to try it out," Baldroy said in the innocent smile despite being covered in ashes.

"Of course. How many times do we have to tell you: cooking requires _fire_ not _firepower_ , you colossal idiot," she said with a hand to her face.

"Yes, _idiot_ is quite correct," Sebastian said, giving up the politeness due to his boiling frustration.

"Wait, that's what she said first off. Nothing's changed," Baldroy said in confusion, unaware that they had to go through this process twice before.

However, they looked at the hole in the wall he had made and Sebastian sighed, "Here we go again. Lilliana, I'll have you finish up the cooking. I will return momentarily." Lilliana rolled her eyes, but did as told and continued to cook the unattended pheasant that hasn't luckily burned or caught any debris. She didn't feel like arguing with him right now. Bard was going to help her, but Sebastian stopped him and swiftly guided him outside the kitchen through the door. In no time, Sebastian had gathered a very tall stack of bricks and gave Bard his order. "Now, use these to patch up the hole in the wall." He handed them to Bard with ease, but he had a hard time carrying them. "And meanwhile, I'll just be confiscating this." Sebastian took the flamethrower with a sweet smile that would be suspicious to those who knew him well.

After some time, Lilliana was finishing up preparing the food when Sebastian came in with the flamethrower and a wicker basket of something inside. "I'm assuming you'll need my assistance?"

"If you must, but with all these interruptions, I've barely gotten anything done," he said as he straightened his white gloves.

"Then you must be very glad I'm here," she said with a grin before placing the food on a dinner plate.

He chuckled before checking his pocket watch and lost his smile. "And look at that. The guests will be arriving any moment. We must pick up the pace."

* * *

The moment they had all prepared for finally arrived: the guests had just pulled up, including Lau, Ran-Mao, and Cedric Brandel. Sebastian and Lilliana welcomed them inside the estate just as Ciel made his grand entrance into the lobby to officially greet them. "Welcome to the Phantomhive estate. I'm Ciel Phantomhive, the current earl and family head."

"Such a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Cedric Brandel," he said as politely as he could. "I had not imagined you quite so youthful, my lord."

"I told you there was no need to feel intimidated," Lau said with his usual playful smile as Ran-Mao held onto his arm. "He's ever so small and precious, isn't he?"

"Quite," Ciel said, trying to hide his displeasure from hearing a comment like that, especially in front of a guest, but knowing that Lau liked to tease him on a regular basis made staying calm easier. "I've had a small dinner planned for us. If you'll follow me, please." Soon, he guided them to the dining area, where Sebastian and Lilliana had prepared a champagne glass tower to ceremoniously pour champagne into in high fashion.

"Oh, how lovely!" Brandel commented as he watched the alcohol slowly reach from the top glass to the bottom with no spill.

"I could have simply set it some aperitifs, of course, but I thought this presentation would be more the thing," Ciel explained, showing off his wealth and power just a little bit.

"Er, if you'll excuse me, master," Mey-Rin said nervously as she walked in with a plate of hors d'oeuvres.

Lilliana noticed the poor girl was shaking like a leaf, which wasn't that unusual since she always had a fear of looking bad in front of the young master and especially Sebastian. Usually it was because her vision with her glasses was piss-poor, but she refused to take them off for reasons she would never understand. However, Lilliana noticed a moment too late that her shoelaces where untied and was about to warn her. "Mey-Rin, be careful. Your—,"

Sadly, it was too late: Mey-Rin had stepped on her shoelaces and tripped with a loud yell, unintentionally throwing the plate right toward the glass tower. Everyone watched in absolute horror as they expected a giant mess to unfold, but Lilliana and Sebastian knew they had to act quickly if they didn't want to ruin this evening. With lightning speed, they managed to collect all of the falling glasses and miraculously catch them before any champagne could spill out of them and placed them on the ground, both of them making their own mini glass tower. However, Sebastian had to be a little extra and managed to catch the runaway plate with the champagne bottle before Mey-Rin could even fall to the ground. Everyone was stunned, especially Brandel, who had never seen this kind of spectacle before.

"So . . . what just happened?"

"Please pardon us, lady and gentlemen. This particular vintage is a bit on the bubbly side, so I made the last minute decision to give it a nice decanting with Ms. Kiliamo's help, of course," Sebastian lied to make Mey-Rin's mistake seem like it was all planned. However, she left before Sebastian could have a chance to scold her when the guests weren't looking, but if he needed to do that, he would send Lilliana, who was even harsher when it came to scolding. As he looked at her, he could tell that she was planning on the choice words to say to the maid when dinner was over. He chuckled before continuing, "Please, have a seat and we shall bring you a glass."

"I'd say, good show! You two would lead to stardom in any acrobatic troupe with that trick," Lau said as he and the other guests began to take their seats at the dinner table.

"Heavens! Us, stars? Surely you jest," Lilliana said in the most polite and proper way she could. Out of all the servants, she was the one who was in dire need of an attitude check, but after years of intense training, she finally was able to pass as polite.

"I appreciate the compliment, but I'm simply one hell of a butler." Lilliana merely rolled her eyes as they began to serve the guests their dinner. The two head servants stood by Ciel's side as they watched the guests take bites out of their food, but also to keep a close watch on their strange guest.

"My lord, I must say, your home provides no end of surprises. The manor is so beautiful! I can hardly believe it was in ashes three years ago," Brandel said in his overly polite tone that was surely trying to suck up to the young lord.

However, in slight annoyance, Ciel said, "I find small talk dreadfully dull dinner conversation. Let's move on to the business at hand, shall we?"

Brandel was surprised by his directness, but obliged. "In the interest of sustained profitability, I'd like my company to begin marketing to children. And since children throughout Europe know of the Funtom name, it would be most advantageous for me to work with you, my lord."

"Indeed. Children are better judges of both art and food than most adults give them credit for, you know," Ciel answered.

"Indubitably, and meeting you only convinces me all the more. I'm beginning to think I've discovered the secret to the Funtom Company's success in that market."

"Oh? You're saying I'm a child, then. And that's why my company has been so successful. Is that what you're suggesting, Brandel?" Ciel said calmly, but it was clear he was insulted by the remarks given to him.

"Oh no! Why, I would never imply such a thing," he said with his arms up in defense.

"Easy, I'm only joking," Ciel said with a grin.

Brandel let out a nervous laughter to diffuse the situation and continued, "You do have a wicked sense of humor, my lord." They continued to eat their dinner for a while, making more conversation as the night went on. However, Lau, with Ran-Mao still by his side, and Brandel excused themselves as they went to the bathroom. This gave some time for Ciel and Sebastian to discuss some things before Lilliana excused herself. Just before 8 o'clock, Brandel returned to the dining room, where Sebastian had collected the dirty plates and glasses and proceeded to serve dessert. "I see that Lau is no longer by your side," he commented.

"He had to excuse himself. Pressing business he needed to attend to," he lied as Sebastian pulled back his seat for him and pushed him in.

"That man isn't fit for proper society," Ciel commented.

"Indeed. It's a shame. We have prepared a tasty sweet to suggest for your tea salon and he will be unable to sample it. Most regrettable," Sebastian said as he brought the cart closer to their honored guest.

"Ah! You've peaked my curiosity. And I see your pretty maid isn't here anymore. Perhaps she would have liked a sample as well," Brandel said, making Sebastian scowl internally, but he had to keep a straight face to not alarm him.

"She had to change her clothes due to a stain on her apron. She will return momentarily," Sebastian said before presenting the dessert: a galette de rois (King cake) with a paper crown surrounding it. "According to tradition, one slice contains a doll known as la féve. Whoever receives that slice will also receive this crown and will be declared king of the feast."

"Just the thing for children, I say. We think it will be quite popular. Young children love to play games. I know I do," Ciel said with a cocky smile, but not because of the clever idea.

"Oh capital! A sweet treat and a game all in one. Leave it to a little brat like you to come up with something an adult never would," Brandel said, finally losing his innocent act.

"What?" Ciel said, not out of shock. In fact, he had expected this.

Brandel quickly got up from his seat as he declared, "They may call you the queen's guard dog, but all I see is a brat hosing off! If there are two things in the world I cannot abide, they are cocky brats and losing money when I should be making it!" Soon, the clock started ringing and he knew it was time. "8 o'clock! Time for you to die," he said as he hurriedly ran under the table to hide. Underneath, he waited patiently as he heard gunshots fill the air and the sound of two thumping bodies hitting the table and floor. Darkness shrouded the room and soon, the gunfire ceased, leaving only silence to remain. With a cocky laugh, he triumphed, "I did it! It's over! I put down the rabid dog! The underworld has a new ruler now-!" However, the clock started to ring again and light returned immediately. Brandel was confused and got out from underneath the table, only to find that the young lord and his butler were perfectly fine, as if nothing had happened.

"Sorry, Mr. Brandel. Did you misplace something of yours?" Sebastian asked as he began serving tea to the young master, who was enjoying his slice of the cake.

Ciel laughed as he said, "Oh dear. Had a bit much to drink, have you? Have some cake; it should help. And perhaps you should forgo the champagne for now," Ciel said with an innocent smile.

Brandel was in utter shock and didn't know what to do. Where were those assassins he hired? They should have shot the place up by now and killed the cocky brat. "Y-Yes," was all he could respond as Sebastian helped him into his seat. He was visibly shaking as he put a fork into his cake and began to eat it, but he felt something hard in between his teeth.

"Ah! My congratulations to you sir. It seems la féve was in your slice of galette." Sebastian said with an innocent smile. Brandel soon spat out what he assumed was a doll, but was scared when he saw a bullet come out of his mouth instead and onto his plate.

"Your friends left that little token behind, you see," a feminine voice said from behind him. "I thought it was best that we should return it." He turned around and saw Lilliana, who was now wearing her Reaper uniform: dark slacks, long-sleeved white button-down shirt, a brown vest, and short red heels. However, despite her unusual appearance, that wasn't the thing that frightened him most. She also had what appeared to be a large sickle, almost like the Grim Reaper's sickle. "They arrived earlier in the day; quite a bit before you graced us with your presence." Brandel was now terrified. How did she know about them?!

"Please don't concern yourself. We already gave them a warm Phantomhive welcome," Sebastian said with the same innocent smile that now left Brandel paralyzed in fear.

Earlier in the day, when Sebastian and Lilliana were interrupted by the servants constantly, they weren't the only ones distracting them. When Mey-Rin flooded the laundry room with suds, Sebastian could see the men reflecting from the bubbles and proceeded to exterminate the issue singlehandedly. Lilliana watched from a distance as she saw men being launched in the air due to Sebastian's inhuman strength. She would happily get involved if it wasn't Reaper Law that Reapers could not kill humans not on the To-Die list. She was already on thin ice as it is and didn't want to push it, even if she wouldn't get caught. When Sebastian had finished, he noticed the beautiful white flowers surrounding them and cut some, thinking they would make a good decoration. This was her cue to start collecting the souls of the fallen assassins so that no one in Headquarters would complain about a large amount of souls missing. Anyone killed by a deity, regardless if they are angel, demon, or Reaper, would not be on the To-Die list. That's why they were very reluctant to let her have this second job.

When they were done, they had to deal with Finny's blunder, but they both could smell cigarette smoke nearby and knew it was another round of men. Sebastian took them out the old-fashion way: forks and knives, while Lilliana watched again from a high enough tree branch. This time, the men shot at them, but it wasn't going to work. One did see her and shot at her right in the chest, which should have killed her. She did pretend for a bit as she fell from the tree, limp as a doll, until the very end, where she landed on her feet like an agile cat. Sebastian, seeing this, decided to kill all of the remaining men before handling this one. The last assassin looked in fear as she began to walk up to him normally and coughed up the bullet that was in her chest. He tried to run away, but ran straight towards the butler, who finished him off with a knife to the throat. He made sure that she was all right before noticing that a pheasant was caught in the carnage. When she confirmed she was fine and proceeded to collect the souls, he stayed behind a bit so they could walk back inside together.

When that was done, they had to deal with Bard's idiocy, which luckily came with a weapon for him to use. However, he told Lilliana to stay behind due to the last incident. Usually, she would protest, especially since he knew human weapons couldn't harm deities, but did not want to make a scene in front of Baldroy, who would get suspicious. Besides, after this next round, they would have little time to finish cooking anyway. Outside, Sebastian used the flamethrower to burn the new set of men, but also managed to roast some chestnuts and brought them back in a wicker basket that he quickly found. When he returned, that was her cue to leave the rest of the preparations to Sebastian and get to her other job. Luckily, fire can't burn Cinematic Records.

And now, here they were: showing off their hard work to the young lord and their special guest with the most sinister, yet innocent smiles on their faces. "N-No, that's impossible! There were at least fifty men out there! And just—just two of you!" Brandel yelled frantically. He was sure he was losing his mind.

"Well, technically only he welcomed the unwanted guests. I just observed," she said as she brought the Death Scythe closer to Brandel for him to see. "This is just for show."

"Lau informed me of your side business dealing guns on the black market, you see. That man actually does have his uses," Ciel said matter-of-factly while finishing his slice.

"Damn that rat! He turned on me?" Brandel yelled.

"Not at all. He was never actually on your side in the first place. Perhaps you are unaware that Her Majesty is distressed by the spread of gun-related crimes among the underclass." Ciel said as he was about to take a sip of his tea, but gave off a displeased look as he said, "Sebastian, make me a new pot of tea. These second-rate leaves are positively foul."

"Indeed," Sebastian said as he proceeded with the order. However, Brandel had enough of this and pulled out a gun from his coat pocket and aimed it right at the young lord.

"I'll kill you then," he yelled as he shot a few rounds, but soon realized that the young lord was not harmed despite being in the line of fire. Brandel was in disbelief, but noticed two things: one, Sebastian had caught the bullets in between his fingers just before they could hit him in the speed of light and that Lilliana's Death Scythe was wrapped against his neck, blade touching skin.

"I wouldn't advise doing that. You'll dirty up the carpet with blood and I don't feel like cleaning that up again," she said with a grin that was no longer innocent looking: it was purely sadistic now.

"This simply won't do," Sebastian said as he showed the bullets to Brandel. "You must be more careful, sir. You seem to keep misplacing your belongings."

"Wh-Wh-What's going on here?! What are you people?!" he yelled with the most terror he has ever felt in his life.

"Oh, we're no one special, Mr. Brandel," Lilliana said as she lowered her Death Scythe and walked toward Sebastian and Ciel, who was enjoying the spectacle. "Simply we are people who cannot be killed by the toys that your lot carry around." Out of fear, Brandel starting shooting whoever he could hit, but Sebastian and Lilliana were unaffected by the bullets and she made sure that the young lord was protected by blocking the bullets with her Death Scythe. Sebastian got close enough to put his finger in the muzzle of the gun and Brandel shot, only to have it explode in his hand and not harm Sebastian at all. With a bleeding hand, Brandel started to run for his life, but when he opened the door, he was shocked to see Sebastian, who he didn't see pass him.

"You've forgotten one additional item, I'm afraid," he said as he walked closer to Brandel, who at this point had nowhere else to go. Sebastian then placed the paper crown on his head.

"Y-You're a demon," Brandel exclaimed, which only made Sebastian grin.

"My. Very discerning for a human, aren't you?" There was no point hiding this fact when Brandel was about to meet his fate. Soon, the room was covered in darkness as Sebastian continued, "Yes. As you no doubt suspect by now, I am simply one hell of a butler."

"No! Stay away from me!" Brandel yelled, pleading for his life.

"Brandel, you've noticed nobody talks about what happens when the Queen's guard dog catches you. Any theories as to why that may be? Well, it's because dead men tell no tales, you see," Ciel said as he removed his eye patch, revealing his Mark of the Contract on his eye as Sebastian removed his glove to reveal the same mark on his hand. Soon, Brandel realized this was the end and screamed in fear as Sebastian's shadow grew stronger and stronger, surrounding him.

"Don't get too carried away. I still need that soul once you're done," Lilliana said as she glided a finger on the edge of the blade of her Death Scythe with that sadistic grin. Sebastian nodded as he proceeded to dispose of the vermin.

* * *

At Headquarters for the Reaper Association, William T. Spears sat at his desk, looking at a new file on his desk. It was an investigation for a traveling circus coming to town, but the names on this file and the stories behind them were fascinating for most Reapers. Not him, of course, since he seemed devoid of any emotion. However, due to the complexity of this case, he needed a partner, especially since some of the names were affiliated with demons, meaning they were most likely contracted. Though, he had to find someone who would be willing to take on extra work on top of the usual quota. He sighed since he knew he had to take on the extra work as well because a certain red-headed nuisance made work life harder since they were short-staffed and a lot of Reapers had to take on extra souls in their quota already.

Suddenly, his concentration was broken when he heard a knock on the door. He looked up and said, "Come in." Once the door opened, he saw Lilliana enter and said, "Hello, Ms. Kiliamo. Your files should be on your desk."

"I know. I already got them. These are different," she said as she placed a folder on his desk.

He already knew what they were and sighed. "The demon went on a killing spree again?"

"He protected our young master, if that's what you're asking," she said, slightly insulted, but at the same time, she understood that he was taught to hate demons. She was raised with a different mentality.

"Right," he said as he looked through the large list of names. "And you are certain you collected every soul?"

"If I didn't, then it would be my ass on the line," she said as she noticed the other file on his desk. "Since when do you do field work?"

He looked at her confused until he remembered the file. "I don't, but this might be an exception due to its complexity."

"That sounds exciting. Mind if I take a peek?" she asked as she tried to grab the file, but he pulled it away before she could touch it.

"I wouldn't advise that. You do not need to be concerned with other cases, especially when you already have enough on your plate," he said with a cold expression that would scare anyone else, but she was used to it after a couple of centuries working with him.

"I guess you're right," she said with a sigh and a shrug. "I guess I'll head to work unless you need anything else from me." She proceeded to walk out, but as she did, she noticed the one other female Reaper in this sect walking toward William's office. Her name was Katia Vendoa, the American recruit that was assigned here for a special mission that was secret to Lilliana, but not William. She had her blonde hair up in a bun and her makeup was tasteful for the workplace. She wore a short sleeve blouse with a long black pencil skirt. Her heels were black and so were her spectacles.

However, she seemed to have lost her professionalism as she saw Lilliana and her heart started thumping. "Oh, hi, Lilliana," she said in an almost flustered tone. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I had to turn something in to William," she said as she got closer to her. "What about you?"

"S-Same," was all she could say.

Lilliana smiled as she quickly walked passed her. "I have to head out. I'll talk to you later." Katia kept watching as she left her side, her heart still thumping fast. She had developed a crush on her ever since she first saw her and not a lot of people knew it. In fact, only Grell seemed to know, even though he could never understand it. Ronald hinted to it, but never flat out asked if she liked her. However, for Reapers, relationships were seen as unnecessary and although there are Reapers who do develop feelings for each other, even same gender relationships were not uncommon, relationships in general were rare. Especially in this London sect, no one seemed to be together. There were flirts for sure, but no one exclusively belonged to someone. She feared Lilliana was the same way, but also feared someone might have claimed her in the form of a demon.

"Ms. Vendoa. Ms. Vendoa!" William practically yelled from inside his office. Katia shook her head as she reentered reality and proceeded to walk into his office. "What did you need to turn in to me?"

"Oh, just the completed files and a report," she said as she handed the paperwork to him. However, with the report, it was the same thing: no luck in tracking the assigned demon. Unknown to Lilliana, she was charged with the execution of her demon brother, Bastille Kilia, who was reported to be roaming the streets of London, keeping an eye out for his sister. Katia felt guilty about continuing with the assignment due to her love for Lilliana, but she had a job to do. Plus, they had to keep this a secret from her in fear she would break Reaper Law to protect him.

She was about to leave without another word, but he stopped her. "Can I ask a favor of you?"

"A favor?"

"I want you to read this file," he said as he presented her the file that he hid from Lilliana. Unlike her coworker, she was more obedient when it came to orders and took the file to read it. She noted the location and the names listed, but most importantly, the demon affiliations. "A simple soul gathering would be enough for me, but it's another thing to be involved with demons."

"Yeah, I agree," she said as she put the file back on his desk. "Is there any particular reason why you're showing this to me?"

"I'm afraid I would have to do field work since we are short-staffed, but this mission requires both an undercover investigation and possible recovery from multiple demons. I'm afraid that is beyond my skill. However, since you are capable of fighting off demons, I thought a possible partnership would be best."

"And you didn't ask Lilliana because . . . ?"

William pushed back his spectacles as he said, "I'm afraid she is too close to demons to be tasked with fighting against them. Besides, she has her other job to deal with and this would be too much for her."

"Right," she said before taking a deep breath. "All right, I'll help, but if I'm doing the demon hunting, does that mean you'll have to go undercover?"

"Unfortunately."

* * *

 _ **What will happen next? What is going to happen at this circus? How will the Reapers be involved? Reviews are appreciated.**_


	2. Performers Taking the Stage

In the hour before the sun rose the next day, Ciel, Sebastian, and Lilliana were making the final preparations before heading off for their mission in London. After she left for work, Lau had handed Ciel a letter from the Queen with three tickets inside for him and his head servants. Apparently "men in white" gave them to him, thinking he was a servant of the house. Sebastian carried the young lord's luggage while Lilliana carried the head servant's small suitcase. Ciel, despite being a young boy, had a lot of things to pack so he will always have an outfit fit for a nobleman, along with lower class clothing in case he had to be disguised. Sebastian rarely needed to pack much since all he ever needed was a new suit in case he somehow tarnished the one he was wearing. Lilliana, on the other hand, needed to bring her Reaper uniform, a maid outfit, and a set of lower class clothing for disguises. The trio walked outside to the carriage, where the other servants waited patiently to send them off. As Sebastian put the luggage above the carriage, he said with a smile, "It is fortunate that the weather turned out so fine. The perfect day to go to the circus, don't you think, master?"

"Circuses are generally held in large tents, aren't they? This rendering the weather quite irrelevant," Ciel said with his usual monotone before entering the carriage.

"Wow, taking out the fun in everything," Lilliana said under her breath as she watched Sebastian follow behind him. "Baldroy, Finny, and Mey-Rin, the master, Sebastian, and I will be staying in town for a while. Please try to behave yourselves, won't you?"

"Have fun! You take care of yourselves, all right?" Baldroy said, almost ignoring her request.

"We'll be seeing you," Finny said with a childlike smile.

"Please travel safe, you three," Mey-Rin said with a worried look. She trusted that the two of them would protect the young master no matter what, but always feared that something could happen.

Lilliana smiled before saying, "Remember why they hired you. Look after the place well." She then entered the carriage and with a whip of the reins, they were off to the circus. Sebastian and Lilliana sat on the same side, as usual, but keeping some distance apart to not give any hints to the young master, who was on the other side.

Ciel read the letter he received again to make sure he didn't miss any important details in this mission. Apparently, there was a traveling circus coming to town and there is a lot of hype for it, but something unusual happens whenever the circus visits a town: a startling number of children go missing with no trace of where they could have gone. The police have done all they could to find these children, but they have run out of options. The only pattern they have is that the children vanish in the middle of the night without a trace, as if they were lured away by the Pied Piper of Hamelin. She hoped that the Phantomhive household will find these children and bring them back to their families safely. After all, losing a family member must be agony for anyone. Once he was done, Ciel put the letter away and began thinking to himself, but Sebastian intervened, "Where will you begin your investigation, my lord?"

"The usual place, naturally," Ciel said. "I'm sure we will find something in the Archives." The servants smiled as they patiently waited for their carriage to arrive at their destination.

In no time, they reached the London Archives, but did not feel the need to go through the front door. In fact, they did not want to be noticed at all. It could have put an unnecessary delay in their investigation. After surveying the building for a bit, they figured a quick entrance through the third-story window into the desired room would serve better for them. However, they were noticed due to some noise and Inspector Abberline walked into their investigation. Of course, he was utterly surprised, but the trio kept investigating as if this was normal. Ciel tried to alleviate the tension by saying, "Very convenient that Sir Arthur is away from the station at the moment, is it not?"

"Please, I'm begging you, can you please stop. If the commissioner were to find out—," he said in a frantic, but was interrupted.

"Best to make sure he doesn't then, eh?"

"How did you even get up to the third floor?! No one asked for your credentials?"

"Sebastian, Lilliana, anything yet?" Ciel asked, completely ignoring his questions.

"No bodies have been found that match the missing persons reports, but I am not certain those reports are complete," Lilliana said as she looked at the recent death records.

"We'll leave when you've finished copying and we might as well borrow the photos of the missing children."

"Wait, you can't do that—?!" Abberline tried to protest, but to no avail.

"If you're found out, just say that I took them and you'll be fine."

"That'd land me in even more trouble!"

"Yes, well . . . So sorry, Underline, isn't it?"

"It's Abberline!"

"Right. You've been very helpful and we thank you. Your cooperation is much appreciated," Ciel said before Sebastian approached Abberline with a suspiciously innocent smile. He placed some coins in his hand as thanks, but Abberline looked at it with offense.

"I am not for sale, my lord! I just want those children safe and I will do whatever it takes to ensure that happens!" Abberline decreed.

"You're willing to do whatever it takes, eh? Very flexible of you. You have a bright future. I hope I'll be hearing of your promotion soon, Abberline," Ciel said as he and the other head servants exited the building, this time, through the front door, luckily not being asked how they got in. As they walked to the carriage, they proceeded to verbalize their next move, hoping to get more helpful clues.

"At least the children are being treated as missing persons rather than murder victims," Lilliana said.

"Yes, as far as respectable society is concerned, but somebody in the underworld may have disposed of them already," Ciel said as Sebastian opened the door and he proceeded to walk in, followed by the servants.

"Given that, am I correct to assume that we will be paying _him_ a call?" Sebastian said, alluding to someone that he felt fairly neutral about, but knew the young lord would rather not interact with.

"I don't like it any more than you do, but when needs must, and all. Let's be off," Ciel said as he used his cane to hit the top of the carriage and alerting the driver to proceed. He then noticed Lilliana's smile at the statement and flared at her for doing so, but she didn't care. She actually liked this strange man since they relate on a level that even a demon could not understand. Plus, anytime a person could annoy Ciel and get away with it was quite the show.

* * *

Soon, they reached Undertaker's funeral parlor and proceeded to enter with caution since he was known for scaring them whenever he could. Ciel opened the door as he said, "Undertaker, are you here?" However, the place was a lot darker compared to the many times they visited. Sure, all the windows were covered but thick black curtains, but at least there would be light. Now, the only things lighting the room were numerous wax candles scattered around the parlor. They walked in, letting the light from the door guide them before it had to close, engulfing the room in almost complete darkness.

Soon, they heard Undertaker giggle and say, "Hello, my lord. It's so lovely to see you." However, they heard a low rumbling sound by their feet and quickly moved out of the way, avoiding knocking over any candles. With the dim light, they could see that a skull was rolling down the room and crash into what would have been bowling pins, but knowing him, they could have been bones standing up. "What's it to be, then? Do I finally have the pleasure of fitting you for one of my coffins?"

They all turned around and saw him standing by the door with that sinister grin planted on his face. "Look, you—," Ciel tried to say before he was interrupted.

"Have a seat, my lord. I've got a batch of biscuits still fresh from the oven," Undertaker said with his usual creepy grin that made most people uncomfortable, including Ciel, but not those familiar with death, like Lilliana and Sebastian. The young lord decided to take his offer and sit on one of the many coffins scattered on the floor while his butler stayed standing with the files of the missing children at hand. Lilliana, being friends with the strange mortician, decided to sit on his main counter, where he would talk business with his clients. Undertaker walked behind the counter and offered them bone-shaped biscuits, but only she accepted them. She grew accustomed to them after encountering this man for many years. "So, if it's not for a coffin, what would bring you here?"

"We have some questions to ask you regarding missing children," Ciel stated, trying to not show his slight anxiousness sitting on something meant for the dead. Knowing him, there could be a corpse inside it.

"Missing children, eh?"

"The authorities still consider them missing person and no corpses or anything of the sort have turned up that they know of," Sebastian continued, sensing the young lord's uneasiness.

"Well, tragic as it may be, dead children are part and parcel of life in the old underworld," he said as he bit into one of his biscuits. "A fact I'm sure you're aware of, my lord."

Ciel stood up as he said, "I have their information here. Look through these and tell me if you've 'taken care of' any of these children." Sebastian then placed the files on the counter for Undertaker to see, whose face was so close to the papers that his chin rested on the counter.

"Hmm, have I seen that face before? I don't know. I'd wager my memory would be a right bit sharper if I had myself a good laugh, though. I think you know what I'm after, my lord," he said in a cocky tone, purposely trying to get the young lord and Sebastian angry. "All you've got to do is give it to me. Just give me the gift of true laughter. One joke and all my information is at your disposal." Undertaker started giggling like mad, which made Lilliana hold some laughter back, but Ciel was far from caring to make a visible sign of anger.

"Sebastian, see to it, will you?"

"Certainly," Sebastian said, but was interrupted.

"Oh, relying on him as always and having him do all your dirty work, eh? That's the trouble with you upper-crust blokes; can't do anything without your butlers or maids."

"Aw, but I like Sebastian jokes," Lilliana said as she finished her biscuit and reached to get another one. "They always make me laugh."

"True, but I guess it's all the same for me. I'm only after a laugh. Don't matter who gives it to me," Undertaker said with a tone meant to get a reaction out of the young lord, which it did.

"I'll take care of this," Ciel said with his anger showing in his tone.

"Are you quite certain?" Lilliana said, surprised that this challenge is actually going to play out.

"Sebastian, Lilliana, wait outside. Go! Do not attempt to listen to this! That is an order," Ciel commanded, not wanting to hear another word from them.

However, Lilliana wanted to poke fun for a bit. "Aw, I wanted to watch-,"

"As you wish, my lord," Sebastian said, cutting her off to save her from the young lord's wrath. Lilliana sighed before following Sebastian outside the parlor, leaving Ciel alone with the Undertaker. Even with curiosity filling up inside her, she knew better than to argue with his butler, who would have fought her physically if she really did not want to cooperate, and most likely win. Sebastian made sure to be the last one out to make sure she wouldn't try to sneak a peak, even making sure she was a couple of steps away from the door so she couldn't listen in.

After a very long time waiting outside the door without any cue to come back in, Lilliana grew very bored and had been playing a game with herself. "12 men with hats, 5 women with necklaces, 4 children with Funtom toys. Wait, make that 5 children," she kept saying to herself.

"Having fun?" Sebastian asked sarcastically, knowing the answer.

"Oh, the most fun I've ever had," she repeated with the same sass. "But you know what could have made this a lot more fun: watching the young lord pay the Undertaker."

"We were given explicit orders to not listen to this exchange."

"C'mon, just a quick peek?" she said with puppy dog eyes, but only received a stern glare from him, making her back off. "You're no fun."

"I do admit that I am curious what the young lord will do, but this is a good lesson for him."

"It's not like there will be a time when he won't have you around to pay the Undertaker. Hell, even I could do that."

"And why don't you?"

"Because I like a good laugh too," she said with a chuckle before noticing another man with a hat. "13 men with hats."

"I'm pretty sure you missed his wife with the sapphire necklace," he said as he kept watch of the door, still waiting for a cue.

"Shit, you're right. 13 men with hats, 6 women with necklaces . . . I just had a thought," she said in the middle of her sentence.

"And that is?"

"You're asking a man who is surrounded with death to tell you if the children are deceased. However, there was an easier way: why didn't you ask the Grim Reaper whose job is to collect souls if the children were dead?" Sebastian just stared at her for a bit at the realization, but then they both grinned and held back chuckles, knowing that Ciel was doing all this for no reason.

In between chuckles, he asked, "So, are they dead?"

"I wouldn't know since you two didn't ask me to look at collected files, but I'm sure our young lord will find out soon."

It was nightfall when they finally heard a chuckle from the Undertaker inside, meaning that it was finally time for the two head servants to reenter the shop. "Aw, did he have to finally do it now? We were only a few short from 100 men. Final count, 96 men with hats, 67 women with necklaces, and 45 children with Funtom toys," Lilliana said as Sebastian opened the door for her and she entered. However, Sebastian was the most relieved since he admittedly was getting impatient, especially when it would have taken him only a few minutes to make the Undertaker laugh. For a young lord who believed in getting things done quickly, he really didn't want to give up.

"Who would've thought the Earl Phantomhive would have _that_ up his sleeve? That kills me," Undertaker said with his usual mischievous grin. Ciel was visibly out of breath with his hair and clothes, which was now missing his coat, disheveled.

Sebastian walked up to Ciel to straighten his hair and clothes and asked, "What on earth did you do?"

"Don't ask," Ciel said, still trying to keep his dignity despite his appearance.

"Well it's a shame we missed a good show," Lilliana said as she went to the front counter to get some biscuits from the Undertaker. She didn't care if they were out for hours; she was hungry. Undertaker only giggled as he watched her eat multiple biscuits in one bite.

"Performing tricks on command like that for the Queen's sake, my lord. You truly are a dog, aren't you?" Sebastian said with a dignified, yet cocky tone.

"That's rich coming from the person who waited outside the door like a good dog waiting for their master," Lilliana said with a mouthful of biscuits. Sebastian glared at her; there was nothing that he hated more than being compared to a dog.

"Shut it. That's enough," Ciel said, changing the conversation while Sebastian put on his coat. "There, I've paid your ridiculous fee. Now, what do you know about the missing children?"

"Well, nothing," Undertaker said matter-of-factly.

"What?" the three asked in unison, but only Ciel was genuine. Sebastian and Lilliana made sure to be behind Ciel so he wouldn't see their smiles. Undertaker saw this and grinned, knowing exactly what they were thinking.

"None of these poor unfortunate little souls have been my customers. Nor have I heard any rumors that match their descriptions."

"So you're saying you don't know a thing about this, and I came here for nothing," Ciel said with frustration building up inside him.

"That's not how I would put it. You see, what I know is that I don't know."

"That's a good point. If he hasn't heard anything about them, that suggests that no one in the underworld killed them. Would you not agree?" Sebastian said with a genuine tone that masked the laughter he wanted to release.

"Yes, if bodies haven't been found in either social circles, then that suggests they're still living. In which case, I suppose our only option is to personally investigate that traveling circus," Ciel concluded.

However, Undertaker couldn't let them leave without one more good laugh. "Pardon me for intruding, my lord, but I believe you have neglected something very important," he said in a mischievous and playful tone.

Ciel was not in the mood for more games with the mortician, but had to know. "And that would be?"

"I'm afraid you aren't utilizing your resources fully," he said as he looked at Lilliana. She and Sebastian kept quiet, hoping the Undertaker would not blow their cover.

Ciel looked at her and then back at him. "I know, but I wanted to pay the fee myself—,"

"That isn't quite what I meant, my lord," he said with a grin as he watched the two head servants holding back their laughter, making him giggle as well. "Although I do enjoy our time together, you didn't need to stop by to get this information. You might have received even more accurate information."

Ciel looked at him with a confused look. "What do you—," he said before having a thought and looking at Lilliana again, who had her hand over her smile and Sebastian did the same. "Are you bloody kidding me?!" he yelled, his frustration finally boiling over. Lilliana and the Undertaker started laughing hysterically while Sebastian miraculously kept his laughter to only a covered chuckle. He couldn't laugh at his young lord; it wouldn't be allowed with his aesthetic. "So I really did do all of this for nothing?!"

"Not necessarily," Sebastian said, watching Lilliana and Undertaker practically fall on the floor, laughing their asses off. "I asked her outside while we waited for you and even she did not know any information. However, if we asked her earlier in our investigation, she could have researched while she was performing her Reaper duties."

"And you failed to inform me of this because . . . ?"

"Because you never asked, my lord," Sebastian said, letting one little chuckle escape from his lips. Eventually, Lilliana regained herself and stood up so she could be in the direct wrathful gaze of her master, but she didn't care.

"This was better than anything the young lord could ever come up with," she said, wiping some happy tears from her eyes. "I haven't laughed that hard in a long time."

"Neither have I," Undertaker said as he too caught his breath.

"We're leaving right now. Come, Sebastian, Lilliana," Ciel practically yelled as he tried to rush to the door and leave this humiliating place, but took a deep breath before continuing in a calmer tone, "Undertaker, contact me if you learn anything further."

"Don't forget, my lord: each of us is only given one soul. Take good care of yours," Undertaker said in a cryptic tone. Lilliana looked at him with a suspicious face, but couldn't ask him what he meant in front of a human.

"I hardly require such advice," Ciel said as he put on his hat and grabbed his walking cane.

"Are you sure about that?" Undertaker said with a giggle before they left his shop and closed the door.

* * *

With the long time they spent at the funeral parlor, they had little extra time to reach the circus before the show started. Though, they did manage to get there on time, they did not have time to explore the grounds beforehand, which would have been swift with two deities. Lilliana separated from the group for a bit as she changed into her Reaper uniform in the carriage when the two left since she most likely had little time between this investigation and her Reaper duties. Besides, she preferred wearing this than her maid dress any day. They observed the people, performers and guests alike, games, rides, various tents, food, and much more at first glance. It seemed like a normal circus; nothing out of the ordinary compared to others. They walked into the main show tent and luckily found three seats next to each other so they wouldn't be separated, although that wouldn't be a bad thing in order to get different perspectives. As they observed the stage, they noticed the multiple chandeliers that hung right above the stage, which was unusual for entertainment that could be as cheap as a traveling circus. "Quite elaborate, isn't it?" Lilliana said as she took her seat. She made sure that the deities kept Ciel in the center seat for protective reasons, as if they were his parents. In all honestly, they did act like it sometimes, the only main difference was that the child controlled them.

"Yes, but no more than any other circus if they received generous donations from patrons," Ciel said before removing his hat as he sat in his seat and Sebastian took his hat so he didn't have to hold it the entire show.

In no time, the lights dimmed until the room was completely dark minus the lights coming from the chandeliers. After a moment of silence, a spotlight lit up the center stage, where a ginger man in a colorful costume and makeup greeted the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen! Boys and girls of all ages! On this fine day, welcome to the incredible, stupendous, unparalleled Noah's Ark Circus," the ringleader said with a cockney accent as he started to juggle many little colorful balls in his hands. "I'm Joker, this evening's ringleader. A pleasure to meet yeh, it is," he said as he bowed, letting the balls fall onto his head, which made the crowd laugh, but not for the trio that observed carefully. He caught one of the balls and squeezed it in his hand which they soon started to realize that it looked like a skeleton hand, but the ball disappeared.

"A prosthesis?" Ciel asked the two deities, who had better vision than he did. They nodded, still keeping close attention to the show.

"Tonight, you're sure to see performances that'll stun and amaze yeh and leave yeh breathless," Joker said before the lights behind him turned on, revealing silhouettes of the other performers. "And now, with a great blast from our very own fire-breathing Jumbo, the greatest show of the century begins!" Almost interrupting Joker and causing the other performers to run away, a giant man yelled before blowing on the torch he held in his hand, causing a huge gust of fire to warm up the stage. The audience watched in amazement as they witnessed one act after another perform, including two young-looking trapeze artists named Peter and Wendy, a knife-thrower named Dagger, a serpent-man named Snake, and a tight-roper named Doll.

However, Ciel, who at his age should be very entertained, was not. "Their acts all seem like standard fare to me. There's nothing particularly special about the program."

"Yes, And if there are children being forced to perform, there is no evidence of it that I can see," Sebastian said before looking at Lilliana, who seemed to be just as easily entertained as the audience, except for any death-defying acts, which was no fun for a person who always knew when people died. Still, her eyes were full of wonder, which was unusual for her. Even Ciel noticed this when he noticed Sebastian looking at her for a while.

She looked at them and said, "What? It's my first ever circus. Sue me."

Ciel sighed before continuing to observe the show, "What would a circus want with children if they didn't intend to use them as performers? Could it be just a coincidence that all the disappearances happened on the same route as the circus?"

"Last, but not least, the brightest star of our troupe! Feast your eyes on the famous gamer of wild cats: Beast!" Joker announced as a woman in revealing clothing showed off her taming skills against a tiger by making it jump through a ring of fire and lay obediently in front of her. "This very special act calls for some audience participation. Are there any volunteers, then?"

"It doesn't seem as if there are any children in the final act, either," Lilliana observed, keeping the closest eye on the show than the others.

"Well, this was a complete waste of my time," Ciel said in defeat.

"For you, maybe," she said before they both noticed Sebastian standing up for no apparent reason.

"Hohoho! The gent in the tailcoat there sure looks the most eager, eh? Please come up on the stage! Step right on up, sir," Joker announced as the crowd cheered. Ciel looked surprised, but Lilliana felt a bit jealous since she would have liked to be the one who got picked.

"I see what you're up to. An opportunity for a closer inspection. Go on, then," Ciel said, giving Sebastian the cue to go. "We must simply find a clue to those disappearances," he said to Lilliana.

"And it seems our best chance of doing so is by learning all we can about this circus," she said as they watched Sebastian walk onto the stage and walk closer to Beast and Joker. "But I don't know what he's planning with all these people watching him."

"I suppose we must wait and see. His methods may be unorthodox, but he always gets the information we need," Ciel said as he kept a close eye on his servant.

"Very good sir," Joker said to Sebastian as he approached them. "Now, if yeh'll please lie down—," However, Sebastian walked past Joker and Beast, completely ignoring what he was saying. Instead, he walked straight up to the tiger and put his hands on its cheeks.

"Ah! Those big, round eyes positively glow! Your ears are so soft!" he started to compliment with genuine adoration in his eyes.

However, the crowd was shocked, including Ciel, but he then realized something that was both pretty important and obvious. "Tigers are bloody cats!" Ciel yelled, making Lilliana lose it and practically fall on the ground, laughing. She didn't know if she could handle another laugh attack, but she had to whether she wanted to or not.

"I've never seen such vivid black stripes before. Breathtaking!" Sebastian continued, leaving both Joker and Beast speechless. They had never seen a volunteer do this before. "Oh dear, your claws have gotten a bit too big, haven't they? We shall have them groomed them, then. Attractively plump paw pads! I hope you'll pardon my saying so." However, without warning, the tiger opened its mouth and practically wrapped its mouth around his head, leaving the crowd in a panic.

"Release that man immediately, Betty!" Beast yelled as she raised her whip to hit the tiger, but Sebastian managed to catch it before it could touch her and possibly him, leaving Beast in shock.

"She has done nothing to warrant punishment. The fault lies with me. I was so overcome by her beauty, I behaved rudely. Furthermore, I doubt that one can train animals by just blindly swinging one's whip," Sebastian explained, making Beast blush in embarrassment and anger. She did not like being humiliated, especially in front of an audience, and especially Joker. However, Betty pounced on Sebastian and bit his head again, making the crowd panic once more. "Goodness, you're a feisty one, aren't you? I admire that."

"Betty! Spit him out this instant," Beast said before cracking her whip, this time, towards the ground to avoid another lecture, but still making the loud sound. Eventually, Betty let go of Sebastian and the show ended, much to his dismay since he wanted to spend more time with Betty. Joker said his closing speech while the performers took a final bow and the crowd cheered loudly. Ciel clapped quietly while Lilliana was just barely catching her breath. She could have sworn she was about to pass out; her body ached from the laughter. After a while, when all the performers retreated backstage, the audience slowly exited the tent. Some walked up to Sebastian to make sure he was all right and to tell him what a thrilling performance he gave, thinking he was secretly an actor. Sebastian played along, but when Ciel and Lilliana approached him, he knew it was time to leave.

The trio walked out the tent and Ciel said with a bit of frustration in his tone, "I didn't intend for you to take it that far."

"My apologizes, my lord. I've lived in this world for many years, but cats are such fickle creatures. I still can't quite read their moods. I simply adore that about them," Sebastian said, looking like a child who met his idol in cat form.

"He did provide a good show," Lilliana said, finding humor in Sebastian's change in his mood. It's rare he saw him genuinely smile, especially about something he enjoyed.

"What were you thinking? You attracted unnecessary attention—," Ciel said before he sneezed suddenly, alarming the two servants. However, he looked angrily at Sebastian as he said, "Dammit! You know perfectly well that I'm allergic to cats, you idiot."

"Huh, I didn't realize tigers counted," Lilliana said in a slight joking manner, making Ciel even angrier. Today just wasn't his day.

"Stay away from me," Ciel ordered rather harshly, but for a valid reason, as he walked away from him.

"Yes, sir," Sebastian said with a bow, unable to fight the order. Plus, he knew it was best for the young lord's health that he stayed away. He just didn't know how long this would last, especially since they had to be in a compact space inside the carriage. "Lilliana, can you care for the young lord in the meantime?"

"I guess I have no choice," she said as she was about to catch up with Ciel, but they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Oh, Eris! I found yeh," Joker said from the distance. Although he wasn't calling for them, they turned to his general direction. He kept calling out the name Eris and they figured it was someone close by, but when he got closer and closer to the duo, they realized he was talking to them, or specifically, Lilliana. "Yer usually with the other performers after a show. What are yeh doing with this bloke in the fancy tailcoat?" They looked at him very confused, but he insisted, "Eris, what's wrong with yeh? Can't recognize me?"

"Um, I'm not this Eris you speak of," she finally said.

Joker's eyes widened in surprise, but put a hand behind his head in embarrassment. "Oh, sorry lass. Yeh aren't who I thought yeh were. I can tell by your voice, but you do look awfully a lot like our fortune teller here."

"Her name is Eris, by chance?" Sebastian asked.

"Oh ho, someone has a sharp wit in yer head," Joker said with a smile.

"Or it's because you said her name multiple times," Lilliana said under her breath.

"Might as well learn yer real name then, miss, so we don't have this flub happen again."

"It's Lilliana," she said, extending her hand for a handshake, but instead, he gently grabbed her hand and kissed it, making her blush since she didn't expect that to happen.

"Nice to meet yeh, Lilliana," he said with a mischievous grin. "Anyway, I'm glad I mistook yeh. I'm so sorry for what happened earlier, sir," Joker said, now addressing Sebastian.

"No, please, it is I who should be apologizing for my behavior," he responded.

"Frightened me out of my skin, the way you walked on up to that tiger like she was a kitten. Sure yer all right, then? Not hurt anywhere?"

"Yes, I'm quite all right," he said with a fake smile.

"Just to be safe, it's best to look you over. Happens we have a doctor on staff. He'll be glad to take a look at yeh, I reckon. Please, come on back," Joker insisted, not letting them go for both a fear of his health and to not get sued if he didn't intervene.

Sebastian and Lilliana both knew this was a good opportunity to investigate the circus further and nodded to his request. "Thank you, I don't mind if you do. Lilliana, would you mind waiting with—," Sebastian was about to say before he was interrupted.

"Actually, I would like it if she joined us. After all, I'd like to her to meet her doppelgänger," Joker said. Despite meaning they would have to leave the young lord alone, she decided to tag along in case they kept Sebastian distracted from their investigation. Besides, Ciel wanted Sebastian to stay away and that's exactly what they were doing.

"I guess I see no harm in that," she said with an innocent smile that was far from genuine.

"All righty then. Follow me," Joker said as he led the way behind the front tents and into the tents that belonged to the performers. Many performers were still practicing their acts despite tonight's show being over for the night and a lot of people were rushing back and forth between tents for various reasons, whether resting, smoking, eating, etc. The animals were locked in their cages with hardly anyone around to guard them. "Right this way. It's just back this way a tad," Joker said to break the silence between the three of them. "The 'ole place is a bit of a mess, I'm afraid." Soon, they approached one of the performers they saw at the show, Snake, along with his many snakes wrapped around his body. "Well, good evening there, Snake! Do you know if Doc's back in the medical tent?" However, he received no response from him and only hisses from his snakes. "Oh, maybe making rounds, then."

However, Lilliana seemed to hiss back at one of the snakes and one of them seemed to hiss back to her, which surprised Snake, but Joker didn't seem to notice. Sebastian did, though, and was about to ask her what she did or said, but she only said, "I'll tell you when we're done checking your wounds," she said with a bit of sarcasm at the end of her sentence.

Soon, after looking through a number of tents, they finally entered one with Dagger and another man, who seemed to be looking at Dagger's right leg, on a wheelchair inside. "Good, there he is. Oi Doc," Joker said, getting his attention.

The man supposedly named Doc looked in their direction and said in a helpful tone, "Joker, what can I do for you tonight? Is your hand acting up again?"

"Ha, no, not for me today. I brought a different patient, see?" He gestured his hand toward the duo, mostly at Sebastian.

"Wait, him? He's the bloke from tonight's tiger act! He's the one that got bitten by Betty!" Dagger exclaimed.

"Hold on. What?! How terrible," Doc said with a worried tone. "We need to get you to the infirmary!" Before the two could protest, Doc and the performers escorted them to another tent not too far from the one they were just at. However, before they entered the tent, Doc get pretty close to Lilliana and even tried to hold her hand, but she shook him away and shot him a death glare. "What's wrong, love? You're usually very affectionate to me."

"Oh, Doc, she isn't Eris. I already made that mistake earlier," Joker said with an embarrassed smile. He should have told him earlier.

Both Doc and Dagger had to take a closer look at her, almost convinced he was playing a joke on them. Doc then asked him, "A-Are you sure?" Joker nodded. "Well, this is very embarrassing. I'm so sorry, but you look a lot like our fortune teller here."

"So I've been told," Lilliana said, curious about what this Eris girl looked like if multiple people confused them.

However, questions were about to be answered as they entered the tent and saw a familiar face sitting by Doc's desk. In fact, the face was too familiar. "Oh, bonjour docteur. I hope you're not going to be busy with—," she said with a French accent, but stopped when she saw the strangers enter, especially Lilliana. "Well, this is interesting." She looked exactly like Lilliana minus her purple eyes. It would have been understandable if they had similar hair and figure, but her figure was practically identical to hers and facial features resembled hers to the tiniest detail. However, her clothing was very different than Lilliana's since she wore a slim purple dress that hugged her curves and showed a lot of her cleavage.

"A-Are you sure you two aren't long lost twins or something?" Dagger asked.

"I don't have a sister," Lilliana and Eris said simultaneously on accident, making Eris laugh, but Lilliana very uncomfortable.

"My love, is there any particular reason you came here at this time?" Doc said as he rolled toward her and Eris wrapped her arms around him.

"I just had a strong feeling to come here. Besides, do I need a reason to see you?" she asked as she gave him a kiss on the cheek, making him smile. She looked at the perplexed strangers and said, "I might as well introduce myself. My name is Eris Melania, the fortune teller of Noah's Ark Circus. And you two must be Sebastian Michaelis and Lilliana Kiliamo."

They were shocked, but Sebastian said, "Y-Yes, that's correct. You have quite a gift, Ms. Melania."

"Well she isn't our fortune teller for nothing," Joker said with a chuckle. "Though, she must have predicted Lilliana's arrival looking like that."

"Nope, that was totally accidental," she teased. Lilliana couldn't stop staring at Eris since it was just like looking at a mirror. It was impossible to meet a twin, especially in human form. Something felt off about Eris, but she couldn't pinpoint what.

"I'm glad we got this little confusion settled, but I do have a patient to look at," Doc said as he gestured for Sebastian to kneel before him so he could examine his head for wounds. Sebastian decided not to protest and obliged. However, as Doc looked over him, he was confused. "Are you certain you've been bitten by a tiger? I don't see any gashes or broken skin."

"It was just an affectionate nip," Sebastian said with his previous good nature returning to him.

"Affectionate nip, eh?" Lilliana said with a slight sarcastic tone and a smile. Joker and Dagger were shocked since they were certain Betty did some serious harm to him.

"Well, I'm just glad you're all right. That could have been a serious injury indeed," Eris said as she nonchalantly sat in Doc's lap and continued to wrap her arms around him. He didn't seem to mind the attention.

"Imagine, letting an audience member get injured! If I did that, the troupe leader would kill me," Joker said with relief.

"We were under the impression that _you_ were the troupe leader," Lilliana said and Sebastian nodded.

"No, not me," he said modestly. Afraid I'm only the hired help. The real leader's downright scary, not someone you want to cross."

"Brave of you to say so," Dagger chimed in. "That kinda talk could get you in trouble. Better be careful."

Suddenly, they heard a familiar cockney female voice outside the tent say, "Hey Doc? Do you got a minute to look at my leg?"

"Hello Beast!" Dagger said affectionately, but sadly, it wasn't returned.

"Why are you here?!"

"Same as you. I came to have Doc take a look at my leg, too! It's just further proves that we're destined to be toge—,"

"You're that dandy from earlier!" Beast said as she walked passed Dagger, who only just realized he was ignored, breaking his heart. "What do you think you're doing? After the way you ruined my act, you ought to be—,"

"That's enough, Beast!" Doc said rather forcefully.

"Speaking that way to a guest is just plain unacceptable," Eris continued. "It wasn't his fault, was it? It was yours for not being able to control Betty properly."

"How do you know—but he just walked up and started touching her!" Beast yelled in frustration.

"No excuses. You are a professional, madam," Doc scolded.

"Let's take it easy there, Doc. What are our guests going to think of us, yelling and screaming like this?" Joker said, trying to alleviate the tension in the room.

"He's right! Beast's leg is what's really important, so let's focus on that instead of fighting, shall we?" Dagger said, trying to get noticed by Beast, only to be ignored again.

Doc sighed. "You'll need to spend some time retraining Betty before the next performance. Understood?"

"Yeah," Beast said, finally calming down.

"All right, then. Show me your prosthesis," Doc said as he gently pushed Eris off of him so he could get a good look at Beast's leg. She walked to the exam table and hopped on it while he rolled closer to her and began to remove her boot and fishnet stockings.

Joker noticed Sebastian and Lilliana's curiosity at her prosthesis and he chimed in. "You'll find us Noah's Ark performers are a bit of an irregular bunch. Sort of a gathering of people with different problems, you might say. Jus' look at me; missing an arm, but the Doc here gave me a right fine replacement for it." He began to clench his skeleton fist to show it off. "Pretty nice, don't you think?"

"That one needs constant adjusting, though," Doc said as he began to adjust Beast's joint with a screwdriver. "I should never have let you choose the design. Coming in every day, asking me to look at it. You should give more consideration to the person who has to maintain it."

"You craft prostheses for the performers?" Sebastian asked as he got closer to Doc to take a closer look. Lilliana decided to stay back a bit to see what he would do.

"Essentially, And quite a task it is! I do everything, from carving the parts to the final fitting."

"He's quite the genius," Eris said as she walked away from Doc and stood closer to Lilliana, who stepped away, still feeling uncomfortable by her presence.

"What materials do you use?" Lilliana asked. "You said you carved them. Are they wooden, then?"

"No, ceramic, actually. I know what you're thinking, but I use special materials so they're always light and sturdy," Doc said before moving Beast's leg closer to him to inspect. "Feel this and you'll see what I mean."

He touched her leg delicately and said, "Indeed, I do. Quite smooth to the touch, as well."

"Of course. And you'll notice that I use spherical parts for the joints to ensure fluidity of movement," Doc explained, unaware that Sebastian was making his way further up her leg, making Beast blush.

"This is truly fine work. I'm impressed . . . What's this? A seal of some sort?" he said as he looked at her thigh, which looked very indecent if anyone else walked in. Beast was flustered and everyone looked in shock, but Dagger was angry.

"My my, he's quite bold, isn't he?" Eris said with a perverse grin.

"What do you think you're doing, pervert?!" she yelled as she tried to kick Sebastian in the head, but he dodged in time.

"Oh, I most humbly beg your pardon. It seems I have read you incorrectly. I had not assumed you were so chaste as to be bashful at something like that," he said in a tone that suggested he wanted to make her mad, which worked since she grabbed her whip and started to strike toward him, but kept missing. Instead, she kept hitting the cloth screen dividers and shredding them.

"Stop that! Beast, stop at once!" Doc yelled since his work station was being destroyed. "Someone stop her quick-!"

"Never a dull moment around here," Eris said with a laugh before turning to Lilliana. "Why don't you stop your man, Lily?" Lilliana blushed by both the accusation and the nickname. Only a couple of people call her Lily and Sebastian wasn't even one of them.

"First of all, he's not my man. Second, I'm not going to bother. In fact, he deserves it," she said, hiding the fact that she got a tiny bit jealous.

"Oh, don't lie to me, mon cher. I know you got jealous seeing how close he was to her pu—," Eris tried to say, but Dagger blew up in anger and interrupted her, much to Lilliana's relief.

"You bastard! How dare you even think about touching my lady's skin?! Even I haven't touched it yet," he said as he began to throw knives at Sebastian, but he dodged them effortlessly by jumping onto one of the support pipes that kept the tent up, causing even more damage to the tent.

"To be fair, I didn't actually touch her skin. It seems I did touch a nerve, though. Terribly sorry about that," Sebastian said.

"Oh you cocky bastard," Lilliana said as she watched the show.

"Put the knives away! You'll shred the tent at this rate!" Doc warned.

"I'm protecting Beast's honor. That's more important than some bloody tent," Dagger said as he started to throw his knives at Sebastian once again, but Sebastian caught each one of them, preventing them from shredding the tent for Doc's sake.

"Blimey!" Dagger said in disbelief while Joker whistled.

"Honestly, not that impressive," Lilliana commented, making Joker and Eris curious.

Still, the fight wasn't over as Beast cracked her whip. "Don't push your luck! I'm gonna take you down a peg!" However, Joker jumped in the air and managed to wrap her whip against his staff before it could hit Sebastian. Once he landed, he pressed a button on it, revealing a tiny bouquet of flowers that magically came out of the staff.

"Ta-da! All right, that's enough fun for now," he said with a reassuring smile. Doc was beyond relieved to have the fighting stop, but wished he had done this sooner so nothing would have been damaged.

"What?! That's not fair!" Dagger said, not ready to give up.

"Come on, Beast. Aren't you being a bit touchy?" Eris teased, wanting to see more of the show as she watched Sebastian land on the ground below.

"Touchy?! But he's the one who—," she tried to protest.

"Now, now," Joker said before putting a hand on her outer thigh. "It's such a beautiful leg. I can hardly blame the fellow for wanting to feel it. Go on, dear, take the flowers and give us a little smile." However, Beast stormed off, away from him, without another word. "Well, that was quite a feat of acrobatics there, sir. Ye have quite the terrific reflexes. I reckon I would hire yeh, I would. Right quick."

"Is your offer sincere?" Sebastian asked as he got up close to his face, making Joker uncomfortable. He sighed as he continued, "Honestly, I might not mind a change of occupation. My current master is so spoiled, I would be happy to be done with him. Wouldn't you feel the same, Lilliana?"

She was confused why he was saying that, but soon caught on to the hint. "Oh yes, very much so. He's become such a little shit lately and it's becoming unbearable."

"Oh 'master' is it? Ye are servants then, are ye? That's a bit of a surprise. I thought for sure you two were of the gentry, dressed up all fine and dandy as you are," Joker said with shock in his voice.

"Us, part of the gentry? Assuredly not," Lilliana said with a small laugh.

"Oh no, you see, I am simply one hell of a butler and she is a special maid," Sebastian finished.

"Her, a maid?" Dagger asked as he looked at her clothing. "Don't you wear dresses?"

"When I'm working, yes," Lilliana said with a smile. "I just don't like wearing one when I don't have to."

"Getting back to your offer, was it a sincere one? If so, I would very much like to take you up on it," Sebastian said, changing the subject and getting back on track with his plan.

"Not having a jest at me, are yeh?" Joker asked.

"I'm not one for jests."

Joker laughed as he said, "Funny ol' fellow, aren't yeh? All right, join us if yeh'd like. We'd be happy to have yeh."

"What are you doing? You can't just make a decision like that!" Beast protested.

"Hey, easy now. You saw him. He's got real talent."

"If I may be so bold, there's someone else I would very much like to introduce you to," Sebastian said. They all looked at Lilliana, who they believe he was referring to, but she shook her head.

"No, not me, someone else," she corrected.

"If this person is anything like you, I'm sure they'll work out well. I reckon we'll be wanting to give them an audition all the same, though. Same goes for your lady companion if she wants to join them." Lilliana was surprised she was getting an offer, but smiled.

"I'd be happy to," she said.

"We shall return tomorrow, then and bring him with us so you can see if he suits. Thank you for an excellent day," Sebastian said with a bow as they started exiting the tent. "There's no need to see us out. We'll be fine."

As soon as they were sure they were alone, they proceeded to continue with their investigation. Though, Lilliana seemed to panic a bit as she asked, "Shit, what time is it?"

He took out his pocket watch and reported, "Half past ten."

"Shit, I'm late for work," she said, but her mood seemed to change as she continued, "Oh well. I'm usually late anyway. Let's continue looking around for a bit and then I'll head to work."

He smiled as they looked around the fairgrounds a bit. They noticed rows of the same looking tents, but after a while, they noticed a section that had a small amount of higher quality tents secluded from the rest. They couldn't let this place alone and decided to check it out. Still, something was bothering Sebastian. "I don't sense the children at all."

"Are you sure? This place is huge and we haven't checked out the entire area."

"True, but in our general area, I do not sense them. However, I do sense something a bit . . . off. What is it?"

"Could it be Eris—," Lilliana tried to say before they heard a snake hiss and almost attack them in the face, but stopped itself before it could bite them.

"I'm afraid this area is off-limits, my friend," Snake said in a husky voice, stopping them in their tracks.

* * *

 ** _Will the trio find the missing children? Why does Eris Melania look almost exactly like Lilliana? What will Snake do to these trespassers? Reviews are appreciated._**


	3. Hired Entertainers

"I'm afraid this area's off limits, my friend," Snake said in a husky voice as he stared down Sebastian and Lilliana, who were about to cross the area with special tents. He was wrapped around by various snakes of different breeds, both poisonous and not. "That's what Wilde says, at least," he said in a different tone. The snakes kept poking their heads sharply at the duo as if they were about to attack, but never made contact with their flesh. However, it was starting to annoy Lilliana.

"Hey, stop that," she said to one of the snakes before hissing at it. The snake seemed to understand her and recoiled its head to Snake, who was a bit surprised it listened to her. Sebastian noticed this as well and knew that this wasn't an accident.

"'Anyway, you'll find the exit that way'," Snake said with a higher pitch tone that was quite different from the other voices. One of the snakes even used its tail to point the way, but Snake returned to his normal tone as he said, "Yes, that is correct, Goethe."

"You're too kind. We had lost our way," Sebastian said with a kind smile and bowed. Lilliana did the same as they both started heading to the exit of the circus. They could try fighting him, but it would cause too much of a scene and if they wanted to stay on good terms with at least Joker, they had to not anger any other performers or get into trouble before the auditions.

As the two were some distance from Snake, they could hear him say in the high pitch voice, "'Ta-ta for now!' Cheers, says Goethe."

As they walked further away, Lilliana broke the silence as she said, "So, he speaks for his snakes. I've never met a human who actually could do that. The people who claimed they could usually are lying."

"I'm assuming you can speak to snakes, then?" Sebastian said, finally getting the chance to ask her.

"I'm a bit rusty, but yes. Being raised by demons has its perks," she said with a smile.

"I'm surprised that a Grim Reaper like you could even obtain that skill, but then again, learning snake tongue is a very easy skill for demons who communicate with animals," he teased.

"Hey, I worked hard to learn the tongue!" she said as she lightly pushed him, but he didn't budge. "Anyway, if we are heading back to the townhouse, then I should be heading to work before William kills me. I'll be sure to be back before auditions in the morning."

"Of course," he said with a nod. "You could also give us confirmation if the children are deceased."

"Aw, really? I was hoping the young lord would torture himself again trying to get information out of someone," she said with a laugh. Sebastian let out a chuckle as well and once they reached the exit, she rushed off into the surrounding forest and was out of his sight. He had to explain to Ciel, who was waiting for them in their carriage the entire time, that both she had gone to work and that they needed a further investigation of the circus, followed by the special request. Hopefully the young lord's pride won't get in the way for some quality entertainment.

* * *

Lilliana reported for work an hour and half later than she was supposed to, but it wasn't unusual. When Ciel investigated late at night and it required his head servants, she always came to work late. At this point, her coworkers accepted it, but that never stopped William from scolding her whenever she came in. She could practically recite his entire lecture to him if she wanted to, but she didn't feel like pushing his buttons. Nope, that was reserved for the red cretin she worked with, but because of a certain Jack the Ripper incident, Grell was sent to rehabilitation to retrain him on what it takes to be a Grim Reaper. She had to admit it was very quiet in the office without him, which wasn't a bad thing. Though, it did get boring fast.

When she walked to her desk, she was certain she was going to find William, but only saw files on her desk. This was a nice surprise for her, but it did make her suspicious. However, she did see Ronald pass by, assuming he just finished his daily quota of souls. Lilliana was one of the few Reapers who took the night shift, but sometimes, if needed, they'll ask unlucky Reapers to do a double shift. He saw her and smiled. "Hey, Lils! You're pretty late to work."

"Yeah, but I had some business to attend to at my other job. You understand," she said as she grabbed her files. "I'm surprised William isn't here to chew me out."

"Oh, I guess you haven't heard. Mr. Spears is on an undercover mission and will be away from his desk for a bit," Ronald said with a cheery smile.

"Huh, that's unusual for him," she said, but remembered that he had a file on his desk that he refused to show her. Now she knows partly what it was about. "I'm surprised he's willing to do this in the first place. I thought he would assign this to someone else."

"Yeah, but I guess after everything that happened with Mr. Sutcliff, upper management got pretty pissed and this is their way of punishing our superior."

"Sucks for him," Lilliana said as she looked through the files on her desk.

"Yeah, but I'm surprised he was willing to work undercover at a circus. Could you imagine? Hope he doesn't have to walk a tightrope or anything."

Her eyes widened as she looked at him and asked, "Did you say a circus?"

"Yeah, the one that came to town recently. I have been meaning to go to one of those shows whenever I get the time off, but who knows if I'll ever get that chance with our schedule." She stared at him for a bit, making him a bit uncomfortable. "Uh, did I say something wrong?"

"No, but my young lord has to investigate that circus due to a case of missing children."

"Oh, serious? Oh man, Mr. Spears really missed an opportunity! Why didn't you tell him?" Ronald asked in a surprised tone.

"He never told me so I never said."

"Well, I guess if you see him, you should help him out. I'm sure he'd appreciate the help. I was assigned one more assignment tonight, so I'll catch ya later," he said as he was left her side. She was still in shock that William, out of all people, was doing an undercover mission at the very circus they were investigating. That could only mean one thing: something was up with that circus. If she could get her hands on the file, she could get more information that could be beneficial to them, but she bet that if she broke into his office, she wouldn't be able to find it. She had a habit of sneaking around his office and he knew it, so he knew to hide things from her.

She sighed as she said in frustration, "A little communication would have been nice."

* * *

After a few hours, she managed to collect her quota of souls and do the proper paperwork for them. It was tedious work, but anything to keep her superiors happy. Besides, she couldn't break that protocol if she didn't want to go back to rehabilitation, that godforsaken torture. She shuddered at the thought, but soon arrived at the townhouse where the three of them were staying. However, before she could knock on the door, hoping Sebastian would answer this late at night, she was not only surprised that the door opened, but a man that wasn't Sebastian opened it. "Hello Ms. Kiliamo. What were you doing out so late?" Agni asked. That's right, Ciel had Soma and Agni "in charge" of the townhouse to get them out of the manor. Ever since the curry battle, Soma refused to stay away from Ciel, which annoyed the shit out of him. There was a point that Agni wanted to turn himself in for his crimes of vandalism and assault towards other curry competitors for the Harold-West company, but they managed to convince him not to. That was a time when Lilliana actually asked Katia to fill in for her since she got injured on the job and needed some help that came in the form of her brother, Bastille, but that was cut short when they learned Katia's true nature and fired her. Soma said to Lillian that he started to fall in love with Katia, but she had to keep her mouth shut about her whereabouts. Ever since then, Katia and Sebastian hadn't been on good terms since then, but she never understood why.

"N-Namaste, Agni," Lilliana said with a slight bow and a surprised, yet polite tone as she entered the townhouse. "The young lord had me do an errand for him. I don't want to trouble you with the details. Is Prince Soma asleep?"

"Oh, yes. For a man his age, he needs plenty of sleep. Lord Phantomhive should be resting as well," he said, returning the bow.

"That's good to hear."

"Though, he seemed upset when he arrived. Have any idea why?"

"It's possible that a lot of stress is getting to him. He's working on something very important that required a lot out of him."

"Perhaps my prince could be of some help—,"

"That's kind of you to offer, but I'm afraid we must decline. These are matters regarding the Queen herself. I hope you can understand," she said as politely as she could, but still being assertive enough for him to back down, otherwise he will persist.

"Well, if you think that is best, then we shall keep watch of the townhouse Lord Phantomhive has graciously provided for us."

"Thank you," she said as she walked upstairs to find her room, or at least, the room the head servants secretly shared. She made sure Agni didn't follow her, but luckily, he and Soma stayed in the rooms on the first floor. She gave a sigh of relief as she found the room and quietly entered.

"Good evening, Lilliana," Sebastian said. She looked over to him and saw that he wore his night clothes, which was just him not wearing a vest or tailcoat. "Or should I say good morning?"

She chuckled a bit. "I'm here, at least. How did our young lord take the news that he has to audition?"

He smiled as he said, "He was reluctant, as expected. He only expected you and me to join the troupe while he stayed out in the sidelines, but this is his game, not ours. We are merely his chess pieces and following his plan would be moving without orders. Eventually, he agreed to at least audition for the sake of our investigation."

"But aren't circus performers supposed to do tricks? I can easily pass, but how is he going to with no extraordinary talents?"

"Don't you worry about that. He will simply do his best and succeed. That is the Phantomhive way, after all. I will remain by his side as a good butler should be," he said with an innocent smile.

She smiled too, knowing exactly what he meant. "I'm just curious what he'll be wearing since performers like them are known for their . . . colorful outfits."

"Same goes for you," Sebastian said as he walked to her. "Knowing how women in this line of work dress, you'll be in an . . . enticing outfit to catch everyone's attention."

"Let's hope not since—," she tried to say, thinking of the information Ronald gave her, but was soon pulled close to Sebastian.

"If you're concerned about looking indecent in front of the young lord, you shouldn't be since there will be other women there wearing those types of outfits. Besides, I think you would look quite alluring in whatever outfit they decide to put you in."

"Yeah, I'll look good in your eyes, but—," he said before he kissed her, cutting her off a second time. However, she was fine with it and put her hands around his neck as they began to kiss more passionately. He tried to take it further as he put her hands on her ass and started to squeeze, but she stopped him. "Not tonight, all right?"

"Are you sure?" he said as he tried to rub his hand on her crotch to entice her, but she grabbed his hand before he could.

"Yes. We have a long day tomorrow and I don't want to exhaust myself before my audition," she said with a playful smile before she walked away from him and proceeded to a closet where her nightgown was stored.

"You do realize you'll be just as amazing regardless of what happens tonight," he said as he watched her undress, her back facing him, trying his best to control himself in front of potential prey.

"I know, but better safe than sorry. I don't get much sleep as it is," she said as she slipped a nightgown on. "Besides, if we can find the time, we can work something out at the circus."

" _If_ we find time."

"Knowing us, we'll find some," she said as she fixed her nightgown and slid into bed, waiting for him to join her. He did and slipped into bed close to her.

"You know-,"

"You can rub your boner on my ass all night if you want, but it's not going to change my mind," she said as she closed her eyes, trying to get a good sleep for once.

"Fair enough."

* * *

Early the next morning, the trio arrived to the circus grounds, ready for their auditions. Ciel was dressed in lower-class clothing to disguise himself, even putting on a medical eye patch instead of his usual black one, while Lilliana wore her Reaper outfit and Sebastian wore his usual tux. Other performers gathered around as they saw them, but especially Ciel, who would be the youngest performer here if accepted. The women gathered around Sebastian in aww, wearing their predictably revealing outfits despite the cold winter air surrounding them. Lilliana couldn't help, but be a little jealous by it. Soon, Joker, Dagger, Doll, and Eris arrived to the scene, happy to see Sebastian and Lilliana, but were surprised to see the newcomer's short stature. "What an adorable little child you brought us," Joker said.

"You are a boy, aren't you?" Eris asked. Ciel was not told about her appearance and had to look at Lilliana to make sure they weren't the same person. The only differences were their eyes and clothing. She noticed this and smiled. "I guess they didn't warn you about me."

"N-No, they didn't. Well, I-I've been in service as a page boy for some time now. My name is, uh, is Finnian. It's a pleasure to meet you all," Ciel said in a humbling tone, compared to his usual superior tone. He couldn't let them know he was a nobleman, especially when he was a recognizable one due to his age.

"That's quite an imposing name for a sprat like you. No worries. We'll give yeh a proper stage name if yeh make it into our troupe," Joker said before getting close to his face and whispered, "Are yeh really sure that yer a boy, though?"

"Quite sure," Ciel said, trying to not visibly show how insulted he was to be asked that not once, but twice. Sebastian and Lilliana hid their chuckles so the young lord wouldn't be able to see.

"Well, being adorable won't see yeh through a circus, lad. Yeh got to have talent, too." Joker said as he backed away from Ciel's face and Eris gestured Lilliana to join them.

"The same goes for you, dearie," she said. Lilliana walked to them and the crowd seemed to be amazed by the striking similarities.

Lilliana got irritated and said suddenly, "We are not long-lost twin sisters. This is just a strange coincidence." Eris giggled at the crowd's disbelieving responses.

"Getting back to the auditions, what are you two good at?" Joker said with a smile.

"I don't know. I'm good with darts, I suppose," Ciel said in contemplation.

"Well being a maid, I had to be skilled at many things, so just assign me something and I'll see what I can do," Lilliana said. She figured if they assigned her with something impossible and she completed it, then she would be given instant acceptance to the circus.

"Well, aren't you confident in your skills, miss? Very well. Hmmm, knife throwing might be the closest to darts. Dagger, give them some of your knives." Dagger nodded as he gave them an equal number of knives each and Joker guided them to a practice board in the shape of the top half of a person and guided them several feet away from it. "All right then, let's see if yeh can hit the target."

Ciel looked discouraged to try since it was far for him, even if he was playing darts. She sensed it and decided to throw her knives first. Dagger and Joker were discussing with each other about how impossible the shot probably was for her, but especially for Ciel with his scrawny arms, but she threw a knife very close to their heads, but aiming for a nearby post holding up a tent. The whole crowd ooo'ed and aww'ed in wonder, but the two potential targets looked fearfully at the knife before turning back to her as she said, "I would much prefer if you two would keep quiet." She then proceeded to throw her knives on the board with ease, most hitting the head while one landed right on the tiny heart painted on the target for more difficulty. The crowd cheered and Lilliana smiled.

"Oh, she's quite talented, isn't she?" Eris said as she looked at Joker and Dagger, who were still a bit fearful from the near-death experience.

"Sh-She sure is. Congrats, Lilliana. You've passed the first test. Now it's the pipsqueak's turn. Go on, then. Have it a go," Joker said, but this time, he remained quiet to not repeat the incident.

"You can do it, _Finnian_ ," she said with a slight chuckle before standing next to Sebastian, who congratulated her for her performance. She was curious how Ciel would be able to pull this off. Sure, he was decent at darts, but he couldn't throw a knife, not to mention at this distance. It would take a miracle to impress them. With doubt in his eyes, he threw a knife towards the board, but it was clear it wasn't even going to land based off the curving angle. Miraculously, the knife seemed to angle upwards to hit the target with force, as if something guided it that way. Everyone, even Lilliana, was amazed by the display, trying to figure out how he did it. Ciel gained confidence as he began to throw knives freely, each one of them looking like they would never hit the target, but miraculously changing angles and not only landing on the board, but all landing bull's-eyes. However, she swore she could hear a certain snapping sound and looked down to Sebastian's hand, where she could see that he had been secretly flicking small rocks towards a knife's handle, forcing it to land on the target. Now it all made sense.

Once he was done, Ciel cockily asked, "Shall I throw another set?" The crowd cheered and clapped for the performance, even his servants, who played along.

Dagger was still in shock by what happened since even he couldn't pull off what he had done, but Joker said, "Well, that was an impressive feat, ain't no lie. You're more talented than I reckoned, sprat. Arguably as talented as your female companion, but this is only the first part of the audition. Next, we'd like to see your tightrope walking skills."

"T-Tightrope?" Ciel asked, but Lilliana's face didn't show fear. In fact, she smiled.

"Of course! It's a very basic skill here that every performer should be familiar with," Eris said with a smile, but her expression turned a bit sadistic as she continued, "Unless you're too scared to continue."

"W-Well, I've never done anything close to that with my previous employer—," Ciel said, but was interrupted.

"Oh come now, _Finnian_ , you should have a positive attitude about this," Lilliana said before she leaned in to whisper into his ear. "If you give them any doubt about your skills, they might not be as certain to accept you."

"Right," he agreed. He looked at the performers and said, "Lead the way."

"Excellent!" Joker said as he guided the newcomers to the main tent with Dagger, Doll, and Eris following them. Soon, they walked inside and climbed the very tall poles that were connected by a tightrope. Doll followed them up and offered to tie them up with a safety rope in case they fell, which Ciel accepted, but Lilliana declined, making Doll a bit fearful for her safety, especially since there was no net underneath to catch them.

Doll proceeded to put a rope around Ciel, but it was too tight for Ciel's comfort. "It's a bit tight, don't you think?"

"Tight is what you want. Less likely to die," Doll said nonchalantly, making him gulp nervously.

"How's it coming? Don't be shy with those knots, all right, Doll? Little chap would be mangled up right good if he fell. He's a novice, after all," Joker yelled from down below.

"Is there any other test you could devise for me?" Ciel asked, hoping to find a way around this.

"Oh, you're not giving up already, are yeh?"

"Come on, _Finnian_ , it isn't that hard," Lilliana said as she began to walk on the tightrope, but had no trouble keeping her balance, as if she was walking on regular ground.

"Wow, she's an amazing, yet daring one, ain't she?" Dagger said with amazement.

"She is. She'll fit nicely here. I can just feel it," Eris said.

"Is that one of your predictions?" Joker asked.

"Well, I didn't make three costumes for nothing last night," she said.

"So you make the costumes as well?" Sebastian asked, not forgetting their mission to gather information whenever they could, even if it was trivial. Little details could become big clues sometimes.

"Oui, it's a favorite pastime when I'm not busy with customers."

"All right, enough yapping. The little chap needs to chivy along," Joker said before yelling at Ciel. "Haven't got all day, have we?"

Ciel was visibly nervous about crossing the tightrope, afraid of getting hurt, but not too much since he knew Sebastian would catch him before he would plummet to his death. Plus, Lilliana was on the rope in front of him, hopefully being able to catch him if he did start to fall. However, Doll noticed this and said, "I'll untie you."

"No, leave it on. I'm going," Ciel said, regaining his composure before extending his arms and proceeding to walk on the tightrope. Lilliana walked backwards to make sure she would be able to catch him, but even she had to be careful to not be too amazing at keeping her balance while catching him. However, to her surprise, he did pretty well by himself and managed to walk a quarter of the way before stumbling and looking like he was gonna fall. Everyone was expecting the worst, but before Ciel could fall, he could feel something small and hard hit his side, making him stand up back on the tightrope. Everyone was shocked by the miraculous recovery, but the two newbies realized what happened: Sebastian was using the small rocks from earlier to help him keep his balance.

"Blimey! I don't know how he recovered after that," Joker said in amazement. With Sebastian's help and not wanting to endure any more rocks being thrown at him with full force, Ciel practically ran across the tightrope, making Lilliana match his speed, but backwards. However, she had no trouble keeping up, but made sure to not go too fast in case Sebastian somehow missed, though she had doubt he would. Soon, both of them made it to the other side and quickly climbed down the pole to reunite with the audience. "That was very impressive. I didn't reckon he would make it after that first wobble, but here yeh are," Joker said.

"Guess Eris was right about these guys," Dagger said with a smile as he put a hand on her shoulder. "But when are you ever wrong?"

"It's not quite over yet, though. There's something of the utmost importance that the little one is missing still," Joker said in a serious tone as he walked up to Ciel. "Yes, I'm talking about . . . a big smile!"

"Wait what?" Ciel asked in surprise.

"Come on, then. Smile for me! Lilliana has a cute smile, but we haven't been able to see yours." Ciel was too distracted to notice that the two servants were doing everything in their power to not die laughing, especially Lilliana, who had already had a couple of laugh attacks during this investigation. "This is the easy part. Don't look so gutted! Go on! Big smile! Just one, that's all!" Despite his building anger and humiliation, Ciel had no choice, but to let out a childlike smile that was so adorable that they audibly aww'ed. Lilliana and Sebastian only laughed a tiny bit harder, but still not noticeable to the young and prideful lord.

"Well, I believe they have passed all the tests, wouldn't you agree?" Eris asked.

"Indeed they have. I guess it's time for you to get their costumes. They'll need them when we introduce them to the cast."

* * *

After some time, the rest of the cast gathered inside the tent with the promise of being introduced to the new recruits. Two of them were wearing their new costumes and makeup looks, all provided by Eris, who had to go back to get Lilliana's outfit. Sebastian was dying to know what she would be wearing. Ciel was wearing a very blue outfit that matched his eyes perfectly while Sebastian seemed to wear his usual tux, but with some purple touches to still make it unique. "Everybody, lend me your ears! We have some talented new mates joining our great show. Allow me to introduce Black," Joker said as he gestured towards Sebastian.

"Hello, I'm Black. It is a pleasure to meet you all," Sebastian said with his playful smile.

"Then there's the wee one over here. Say hi to Smile."

"Smi—?!" Ciel said in shock and humiliation.

"Come now, Smile. Wouldn't you like to say a few words to everyone?" Sebastian said, barely hiding back the chuckles behind a fist.

"Yes, I, er . . . am so happy to be here. I look forward to working with you," he said rather reluctantly.

"And finally, the lass at the end is Lily."

"Oh come on! They get totally different names and I just get a nickname?" she asked, feeling disappointed by her new name change.

"Well, Eris had a floral vision for your costume and that nickname seemed to fit best," Joker said with a smile.

She shrugged as she said in tranquil defeat, "Whatever, I guess. Happy to be part of the cast."

"Well then, now that we got introductions out of the way, you'll need a backstage tour before we get down to work. Follow me if yeh please. I hope Eris will find us in time to give Lily her new costume. I'm sure you'll love it," Joker said as he guided the trio out of the tent.

"Can't wait," she said, hiding her dread. It was already pretty cold with her fully-covered Reaper outfit; she couldn't imagine how cold she would be in a revealing outfit.

They proceeded to walk a few feet away before stopping. "First stop: the tents that you'll be sleeping in." He pulled back a curtain to give them an idea of their living conditions: a bunk bed with a desk and closet. "This area's for second-tier folk, such as newcomers, stage hands, and the like. The sleeping arrangements are about two or three people per tent." He closed the curtain and guided their attention to behind them. "Over there yeh have the storage tent and the mess tent. Cooking's a big part of the job while you're here, so best be ready to work hard." They proceeded to walk down further as he continued the tour, pointing out important tents for them to remember. However, as they reached the different tents Sebastian and Lilliana saw last night, Joker said, "These tents in the back are the private quarters for the main cast."

"Private tents?" Ciel asked.

"Of course. Big names get big places of their own. They expect it, don't they? Once you make it big, you can get one as well. Oh, and the first tent's Snakes, so you best keep your distance. I'd hate for yeh to come to grief. Snake lets his poisonous beauties run loose, you see. A bite from one o' them, and ye'd be stone dead." The trio looked at each other, noting the suspicion in that last statement. "You'll discover that Snake and his serpents are mighty shy of strangers, so I tell newcomers to be extra careful-like."

"We'll make sure to—," Ciel was about to say, but was interrupted.

"Sorry for intruding, but I was wondering, what happened to that right eye of yours?"

"Oh, well, there was a . . . an accident," Ciel said as he touched his covered eye. He should be used to people asking this question, but the thought kept slipping and obviously, he couldn't tell the truth.

"Ah, how terrible," Joker said in a genuine sad tone. "And you're so young for such an awful thing to happen." However, he gained his cheerful smile back as he said, "Well, we're all damaged in our own way here, so you should have no trouble fitting in. It's good friends, we'll be."

"Uh, right," Ciel said, uncertain how to get himself out of this, but luckily, Joker continued the tour around the circus as if this talk never happened or really mattered much.

As they walked back to the resident tents, they noticed one of them had a sign that said _FORTUNES_ _AT_ _NEGOTIABLE_ _PRICES_. "Our fortune teller is the rare exception here. She is a first-tier performer, but due to her limited talents on the main stage, she is only popular offstage, so we put her in charge of the second-tier performers. She usually lives on her own, but when we have an odd number of female performers, she happily takes them in and mentors them until another newcomer arrives." He pulled back the curtain to reveal the same living conditions as earlier, except there was a table covered by a purple cloth at front with a crystal ball, tarot cards, and other mystical props and another table with various cloths and a sewing machine. "Huh, I guess she's looking for us. Hope we run into her soon."

They began walking around some more, but Sebastian asked his own question. "Did all the performers join at various stops during your travels as we did?"

"Aye, most did anyway. Though, we first-tier performers all come from the same place. We're childhood friends, see," Joker answered.

"So you've all known each other for quite some time, then," Lilliana inquired further.

"Well, almost all. Snake and Eris are quite a bit newer than the rest of us, actually. His snake-handling is tops, and we needed a snake man, so even though he wasn't part of the original crew, he made the jump to first-tier quickly. And Eris, well, she came here when Doc did. They're quite a cute couple, if I do say so. She acts all lovey-dovey to that man, though I must admit that he does seem to be too involved in his work to fully acknowledge her at times. However, she'll remain loyal to him until the very end. I honestly don't know what she sees in him, but who am I to get in the way of true love?" Joker smiled as they proceeded back to the main tent, where they saw many performers practicing their various acts for the show. "Being one of the primary performers has its perks, to be sure. You get to eat first, which means we aren't fighting tooth and nail for the best food and the private tents, of course. So, as you'd expect, there's friendly competition among the other performers for first-tier status. You see how hard they're working? There's some time before we open, so the newcomers spend all the moments they can practicing and hoping to earn a prime spot in the show. To move up, you have to master the basics. Just work on building a solid foundation and—,"

"Joker, you got a moment?" Beast asked out of nowhere as she entered the tent.

"Of course," he said, but his usual smile seemed to fade away. She looked at the newcomers, but was still pissed by the humiliation she received from Sebastian and refused to look at him in the eye. "Right then, I have to go. Best get to work."

The trio was relieved as he left with her and were finally able to have some time alone so they could discuss their next move. "So, let's gather what we know: there is a tent of poisonous snakes protecting the first-tier tents so no one can enter and snoop around." Ciel said as the three of them started stretching to not stand out.

"I guess some people have guard dogs and some have guard vipers," Lilliana joked as she held her foot in the air behind her to stretch it out and show how flexible she could be.

"That seems to be the case, my lord—oh, not my lord, though, is it?" Sebastian said teasingly. "I must learn to call you Smile. If you got a touch more activity, your muscles wouldn't be so frightfully tight," Sebastian said as he tried to push Ciel forward as he sat in a V and extended his arms in front of him, but barely moved much due to his inflexibility.

"I don't believe I asked you," Ciel barked back. "We could try to gain first-tier status. That would give us the access we need. A few poisonous snakes should prove no challenge for you two, though. After all, we need to find those children."

"We won't find them here," Sebastian said frankly. "We explored as much as we could after our visit last night and then there was our tour today, but neither time did I sense the children."

"Well, the fact that they aren't on the premises is hardly proof that the circus isn't involved in their disappearances," Lilliana said as she and Sebastian linked arms and faced away from each other so they could stretch each other's back.

"Regardless, we must conduct a thorough investigation. We stay until that is done," Ciel said.

"Yes, of course. After all, it's entirely possible they're already in such a condition that I could not sense them," Sebastian said rather grimly as he bent down so she could stretch her back, but he was surprised to see how flexible she actually was. He needed to keep this in mind for the future.

"Well, we must hope that isn't the case. Her Majesty desires their safe return, and I don't want to disappoint."

The two servants nodded, but Sebastian continued, "And while I don't sense the children, there is something a bit unusual around here."

"Oh!" Lilliana said as she practically pushed Sebastian off of her, surprising them. "I forgot to mention something to you both. Apparently—,"

"What are you newbies doing?" Dagger said as he approached them suddenly, cutting her off. "That's enough stretching. It's time to practice!"

"Y-Yes of course," Lilliana said, waiting for her next opportunity to tell them.

"It's your first day, so I'll be helping you along. We'll need to decide what your acts will be. Any requests?"

"If we're allowed to make requests, I would prefer something less physically demanding than the tightrope," Ciel said, remembering the acute pain he had to go through to just pass that test. "Anything but that."

Dagger laughed as he said, "Good idea. You are pretty frail. All right, I'll teach Smile here everything there is to know about knife throwing. Lily?"

"Oh, well, I wasn't able to demonstrate this during my audition, but I have an uncanny ability to tame snakes," she said. Ciel was surprised she would request this, but Sebastian had a smile on his face. So this was her way of getting around the snakes. Clever girl.

"Really? Wouldn't imagine you being so close to those things willingly. Well, we can see if Snake is willing to teach you some things, but it might be difficult at first gaining his trust, not to mention, his snakes," he said with a hand behind his head. "And you, Black?"

"No preference. Anything will do for me," Sebastian said in a tone that was somehow humble, but cocky at the same time.

"Oh yeah, that's right. You're a natural, aren't ya? Go on then and try whatever you think you can manage and I'll observe."

"Very well," Sebastian said as he ran up the pole to work on trapeze. Of course, he was rather skilled at that and caught people's attention already. It didn't take long before he started a new act, one after another, all with skill that couldn't be human. Ciel and Lilliana only shook their heads, hating the fact that he was bringing so much attention to himself. He could practically do everything before Dagger had to cut him off, feeling like he had seen enough. The other performers gathered around him to congratulate him and ask how he was able to do everything.

"You might be getting yourself carried away there, _Black_ ," Lilliana said playfully, but genuinely meaning what she said. "I thought you were supposed to be a newcomer."

"Blimey! I did not expect that! Another wickedly talented new performer! I'd better keep my act fresh" Dagger said.

"Another?" Ciel asked.

"That's right. Black here is not the only new bright star to join our troupe recently. Look, up there," he said as he pointed to the tightrope. The trio looked behind them and was shocked to see who it was. He was wearing a colorful outfit, which contracted to the usual suit and tie they were familiar with. However, the glasses and pruner Death Scythe were unmistakable. "He's a former civil servant or something and he's very serious. Hey! Come on down here, would ya? Oi, Suit!"

"No, that can't be—," Ciel said, but before he could truly piece together who it was, Lilliana started to laugh her ass off, even falling to the floor.

"I've been meaning to tell you about Will," she said in between laughter. "But I would never imagine in a million years he would be a circus performer and wearing that!"

"You know him?" Dagger asked, startled by her laughter.

"Yes, we used to work together before I became a maid," she said, still dying of laughter, finding it hard to breathe.

William blushed a bit, not realizing it was her at first, but then sighed as he said, "Out of all the people to see me like this. I'll never hear the end of it." He looked down at the trio as he said, "That explains it, then. I thought I sensed something foul. How unfortunate." He aimed his Death Scythe at Sebastian and tried to strike him, but Sebastian dodged just in time. He started to lower himself to their level as he said, "I didn't expect to meet you two ever again, but I guess I'm destined to be disappointed. What prey are you in pursuit of this time? Answer me, vile demon!" As he finished, he pointed his Death Scythe right at Sebastian's face. However, he left the crowd confused with the title and Ciel knew this was bad. If they figured out what the two of them were, then pandemonium would occur and their investigation would be compromised.

"I say, what is this madness?" Ciel asked, trying to play along.

"It's bad enough that we Reapers are in short supply, especially when a good number of them are incapable of doing their jobs efficiently, without demons popping up all over the place. At this rate, I'll be stuck working her another late night."

At this point, Lilliana was able to catch her breath and walked to William in a giddy mood as she said, "Hey now, what have we talked about? You do these bits with a straight face and no one can tell you're joking." Ciel and Sebastian were surprised how naturally she acted, especially since she was laughing just seconds before. She walked passed him and up to Dagger as she said, "This bloke has always been after my heart ever since we worked together, but when I changed jobs, he always viewed Black as a demon and called himself a Grim Reaper thanks to a book that both of us liked back in the day. However, he's taken the Reaper persona a little too seriously, so don't be surprised if he calls me a Reaper and talks about souls and stuff like that."

"It's no joke," William said, "And what is this nonsense about—," he tried to say in a stern tone, but she gave him a death glare that honestly scared him and forced him to shut up.

She then turned to Dagger with the same smile she had earlier. "I hope you can understand."

"Ah, that makes sense. I'm glad you cleared this up. So he is just crazy," he said with a relieved smile. "Well, now that's settled, let's introduce you to our new—,"

However, he was interrupted as they heard Eris walk in with an outfit in hand. "There you all are! I was looking for you, but even my psychic powers could not pinpoint exactly where you were." Lilliana looked at William, thinking he would be surprised to see a doppelgänger of her, but he wasn't that shocked. She figured he saw her before and figured out the truth right away. Though, she had to wonder how he reacted at first. She handed Lilliana her costume, but she noticed the small amount of fabric used. She picked up the purple top, only to realize it was only a silk, long-sleeved crop top that barely covered her breasts, which even then wasn't covering much since there was a lace front that was tied with a flimsy knot. She blushed, but picked up the green lace skirt, which was so short that it would practically showing off her ass. Lastly, she was given fishnet stockings and tall purple heels that seemed taller than any heels she'd seen worn on a woman.

"Are you fucking kidding me?!" she practically yelled. "I can't wear this!" She looked at Sebastian, who was intrigued by her outfit, making her angry. However, she was more embarrassed to have to wear this in front of William more than Ciel.

"Oh, don't be so modest. We want to get the men's attention, don't we? Unless you prefer the pretty blonde lasses," Eris said teasingly. Lilliana was taken back a bit; to any other person, her statement would be random, but to her, it reminded her of her coworker, Katia. "Go on, try it on. There are changing rooms outside. I'll meet you there just in case you need help changing," she said as she left her side.

"Meanwhile, our rising stars need to play nice. We're a family here, after all," Dagger said, mainly addressing the two deities, but William walked away rather rudely.

"I don't see how I can possibly play nice with vermin like that."

"How can you—Circuses run on teamwork, ya know!" Dagger yelled.

Ciel walked to Lilliana, who was still flustered by her outfit, and said, "You have a lot of explaining to do. For example, I would like to know what a Grim Reaper is doing here."

"And undercover, no less. It's most unusual for them to do that, is it not?" Sebastian said, not quite letting the lie she told Dagger slip by so easily.

"I know, but I don't know all the details. I just learned he was here last night and I've been meaning to tell you, but we've been preoccupied. I need to ask him some questions of my own. However, there is no doubt about one thing, at least: something's going on at this circus. Something deadly."

* * *

 ** _Will the trio be able to pull off being cirucs performers? What does William's appearance mean? Will Lilliana have to do a double investigation? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	4. Colleagues at Arms

Lilliana was changing in Eris's tent while Eris waited outside, ready to assist her whenever needed. After they learned about William, Lilliana decided to change into her outfit before lecturing him on how to blend in with the other performers. Eris offered to help, but Lilliana declined her offer and asked her to wait outside, feeling a bit shy changing in front of a stranger that wasn't Sebastian. As she began changing into her new outfit, she couldn't help, but make comments about each piece regarding how short and skimpy it was. "Do I seriously have to wear this? How do none of the girls here get sick?"

"Most of us are used to the frigid cold that a little more skin exposed won't be too much of a problem. I assume you're not one of those people," Eris said from the outside as she filed her black nails.

"Don't get me wrong: I have a high tolerance for the cold. I just worry about the others," she said as she put on her top, or lack of it. As she put it on, she saw the Branding Mark that her brother placed on her chest so he could always track her whenever needed. It looked like as if a star pentagram was cut into her skin and was just healing. To some, it may be very disturbing and she always kept it hidden to not alarm anyone. Well, too bad the top had a lace front that put it on display. Speaking of which, Sebastian's mark that was on her lower back was also in prominent view since the skirt was barely enough to cover her ass just standing up. There was no way she could bend down at all without giving anyone a good show.

"I thought about doing the more colorful makeup on you like I did with Smile and Black, but you already have those interesting pentagram tattoos on you that I forwent the idea," she said as she put on some purple lace gloves.

Lilliana poked her head out of the tent with a shocked look on her face. "How did you . . . Right, tattoos," she said, forgetting she was a fortune teller and apparently a good one.

"But I do want to emphasize those lips and eyes. And you need to have rosy cheeks all the time," Eris said with a smile. Lilliana sighed and put her head back in the tent and put on the fishnet stockings and heels. She looked at herself in the mirror and just accepted defeat. She couldn't make more of a scene than she already did and her stance on the outfit was already made and ignored. She let Eris come back in so she could do her makeup and teach her what to do so Lilliana could do it on her own. "Let's give you a smoky eye look with a bright red lip," she said as she looked for makeup in a drawer.

Lilliana thought to use her time wisely and said, "So, on our tour, Joker said you came here with Doc."

"Oui," she said as she sat down with the makeup and brushes. She dipped a brush in gray eye shadow and began placing it on her eyelid. "I love that man, but I'm afraid there are times when he doesn't acknowledge I'm there since he is devoted to helping these lovely performers with their prosthesis. It's not a bad thing of course."

"How did you two meet?"

Eris smiled as she finished the grey base on her eyelids and dipped into black eye shadow to continue. "We met at a gala some years ago through a mutual friend. It was love at first sight."

"A mutual friend?"

"Oui, the patron of this circus. He even provided funding for Doc's prosthesis. He is such a generous man."

"Oh, really? It would be nice to meet him and thank him in person."

"I'm fairly certain you will," Eris said as she put her brush down and picked up eyeliner. "But enough about my love life. I'm curious about yours. It's not every day that I meet a woman who has two men fighting for her."

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Will—I mean, Suit and I have known each other for a long time. I guess somewhere during that time, he started growing feelings for me and-,"

"Mon cherie, I don't think you realize how truthful your lie is," Eris said as she started drawing a wing on her eyes.

"Excuse me?" Lilliana said with a confused expression.

"You really thought you could lie to me so easily?" she said with a closed-eyed smirk.

Lilliana sighed. "I guess not, but what do you mean by what you said?"

Eris laughed. "To put it frankly, I know you two didn't develop a relationship during your time working together, or at least, not after you passed a test to get the job." Lilliana kept quiet. Does she know what she and William truly are? Eris was starting to scare her with her accuracy already. "Actually, you didn't pass that test the same time as him, correct?"

"Y-Yeah."

"And that book you mentioned. It was never published, was it?"

"Um, no. The author tragically died on the way to the publisher."

"Oh, how unfortunate," Eris said as she finished the winged look and picked up a thick brush to wipe away any eye shadow fallout on her face before applying blush on her cheeks. "And you and Black; what's your relationship with him?"

"Well, we work together at our previous employer," she tried to say shortly, but Eris wasn't satisfied with her answer.

"There's more to that, dearie. You two would be called lovers if you two didn't deny your feelings with each other. No normal servants fuck each other behind their master's back." Lilliana blushed by her frankness and Eris smiled. "If you kept those rosy cheeks on all the time, you wouldn't even need this blush," she said before putting the brush down ad picking up a final lip brush and dipping it in red lipstick. "But before you talk with Suit, I must warn you that your lie isn't too far off from the truth."

"And by that, you mean?" Lilliana tried to say without moving her lips and messing up her makeup.

"If you want an answer, you would have to pay me," Eris said smugly before putting down the brush and instructing her to rub her lips together. Lilliana did as she was told, but was not satisfied with her answer. "Ah, très belle," she said as she handed her a mirror. Lilliana took it and looked at herself, completely shocked by her look. She honestly wouldn't be able to recognize herself. She didn't like wearing much makeup already since she thought it was too much, but this . . . she honestly did not hate it. "Now, go on then and return to your friends. I'm sure they would like to talk to you. Also, since you said you were good with snake-taming, you might eventually want to talk with Snake about teaching you a few things. You might become his assistant or something for his act."

"Um, all right," she said as she put the mirror down and exited the tent.

Eris watched her out before losing her smile and looking at herself in the mirror. "I need to control myself more," she said as she looked at her multicolored eyes, but fixed her lavender eye look with some eye shadow. "She'll surely pick that up if I'm not careful. Same goes for Black."

* * *

Lilliana tried running back to the main tent, hating how difficult it was to run in grass in her high heels, but saw William walking away from the tent, presumably trying to avoid Sebastian and Ciel. "Hey, William!" she yelled as she speed-walked his way, trying to not sink into the ground and tripping.

"My name is Suit, not-," William tried to say before noticing her walking his way. He blushed a bit at the outfit and makeup, not wanting to believe it was indeed Lilliana wearing such a scanty outfit. "I hope this is Eris playing tricks on me. It is impossible that Ms. Kiliamo would-,"

"Sorry to disappoint," she said as finally stood next to him. "Trust me; I wouldn't wear this fucking outfit if I didn't have to."

"On the contrary, I think it looks quite enticing on you," Sebastian said out of nowhere. William turned suddenly and extended his Death Scythe to strike Sebastian again, but he dodged with ease.

"I despise such vulgar intentions, especially from someone like you, demon," William said with an angry glare, but Sebastian only smiled, making him more mad.

"William, this is no time to be fighting with him. I just want some information out of you and I will gladly do the same for you," she said, forcing him to retract his Scythe.

"Why on Earth would I disclose private information concerning souls to the likes of him? It's like releasing rabbits at the mouth of a wolf's den."

"I'm afraid you have mistaken me. I have no interest in cheap souls. My tastes are more refined," Sebastian said as calmly as he could. In fact, she seemed to be more visibly insulted by Will's remarks than he actually was.

"Fine words from a starving demon. I know you must be half-mad with hunger."

"Again, you are mistaken. I have grown weary of ripping into every stray soul I happen upon. After all, the hungrier one is, the more satisfying one's dinner shall be."

"How perverse."

"Not nearly as perverse as that ginger friend of yours."

"Anyway," Lilliana said, butting into the conversation, hoping to stop it before it gets worse. "You happen to be investigating the same place that we are and you didn't even bother to tell me," she said with frustration building in her voice as she crossed her arms. "That file on your desk; it was concerning this circus, wasn't it?"

William sighed as he said, "Yes, but you already had enough on your plate that I didn't want to bother you with even more work, especially with something as complicated as an undercover investigation."

"Well, _we_ are investigating this circus due to a possible connection with the disappearance of children. I doubt you have any information regarding that," she asked. He shook his head. "I figured. But why would you, out of all people, do field work? I thought being in management stopped you from doing that."

"True, but due to being short-staffed and thanks to a certain prat, I've been forced into this work for the time being and without extra pay. Ridiculous, isn't it?"

"Well, your outfit is," she said holding back her laughter.

"You're one to talk, _Lily_ ," William spat back, making her blush for multiple reasons: she was reminded that he had to see her in this outfit, but also that he called her by her nickname. "Still, I find it very disturbing that _he_ is here, ready to feast upon any soul he finds."

"You shouldn't be worry about that since I am on a short leash by my master," Sebastian said as he removed his glove to reveal his mark.

"And I'll be around to keep him in check, though it is very unlikely he'll go out of line," Lilliana said as she held her Death Scythe in her hand. "Now, if you would so kindly, please explain why you're here. I told you our reason."

He was reluctant, but sighed. "Very well. I shall speak plainly. In the next few days, a small group of Reapers, including myself, intend to review a large number of souls near this circus. This is a sensitive case, so I would appreciate it if you didn't interfere or else I would have to cut you down swiftly," he said, mainly addressing Sebastian.

"I'll make sure you two don't have to interact and act as the messenger for each other if needed. However, let me make one thing clear, _Suit_ : we need to blend in with the other performers. We cannot call each other demons and Reapers or else they'll catch on to us. If you can't even do that, then you're no better than Grell. You're lucky that I can lie easily and quickly."

"Speaking of which, I find your lie quite ridiculous. Pinning us as love rivals," William said, trying to hide a hint of red in his cheeks.

"I hate to admit it, but I have to agree with him," Sebastian said.

"It's either that or having people interfere with our investigations. Just accept it. Now, even you in denial won't be suspicious to the others."

William pushed back his glasses as he said, "Unfortunately, we cannot change it now. As long as we keep our distance, the lie won't matter."

"Agreed," Sebastian and Lilliana said in unison.

"By the way, Ms. Kiliamo, please tell your master to keep his pup in check," William said as he tried to leave their side, but was stopped.

"Oh, do I still have to report to work if you're not there and we're both technically working on the same job?" she asked innocently, expecting a certain response.

He looked at her confused, but sighed. "I suppose you can take a break from your soul quota until the mission is completed. I'll have to send a message to Headquarters informing them of this." She was surprised by his answer and she smiled, rejoicing she didn't have to work for a few days. Best vacation ever . . . except she had to wear this ridiculous outfit the whole time.

* * *

Soon, night fell and tonight's show was underway. As tonight's performers, mainly consisting of the first-tier members and a sprinkle of second-tier, the rest of the troupe kept moving props back and forth from the front stage, backstage, and the storage room when it wouldn't be used for a while. Naturally, Sebastian, William, and Lilliana were fine with the heavy lifting, but Ciel had a hard time since he was not used to lifting practically anything by himself. It was quite comical to the deities. When the show was over, Joker gathered the newcomers near the resident tents along with Eris, Dagger, and another performer named Freckles. He held up a sheet of paper and said in his usual jovial voice, "And now, the moment I know yeh have been waiting for: tent assignments! Exciting, eh?"

"Very," Ciel said sarcastically, still exhausted from the heavy lifting.

"Hey, now, what are yeh doin' looking so down in the mouth? Remember to smile, Smile," Joker said as he led by example.

"Y-Yes sir," he said as he put on a fake smile.

"All right, back to business: the results of our totally random lottery, minus one exception," he said as he turned to Lilliana. "Like I said on our tour, Eris takes in female newcomer when we have an odd number, so you'll be rooming with her."

"Très bien," Eris said with a smile.

"And I thought it was only fitting because you two look so similar," Joker said, retuning that smile.

"Of course," Lilliana said sarcastically.

"Smile, yeh're in tent number eight and here is your flat mate," he proceeded, introducing the brown-haired boy, or at least, they hoped he was a boy. "As for, Black, it's tent number nine for you."

"Seba—You mean Black isn't in the same tent as I am?" Ciel said in shock. If they were separated, that would complicate things during their investigation.

"No. Why on earth should 'e be?"

Dagger laughed as he said, "You're tied pretty tight to Black's apron strings, eh? Time to strike out on your own, mate."

"No, it isn't like that, really. Only since Black and I know each other—," Ciel tried to explain, but was ignored.

"Moving on then; rooming in tent nine with Black will be Suit," Joker continued. The two "roomies" gave each other death glares after hearing that and Ciel looked at them with worry, fearing they might actually kill each other.

However, Lilliana laughed a bit, but nearly as hard as the last few times. "Oh come on. Their luck can't possibly get any worse."

"On the contrary, look how happy they are!" Joker said with a laugh. "Now that's all settled, Dagger and I shall be off. We'll leave these lads and lass to get all settled in." Soon, they scattered into their tents, Freckles practically dragging Ciel into theirs, Sebastian and William keeping their distance while walking to their tent, and Lilliana following Eris. She didn't like the idea of rooming with her telepathic doppelgänger, but she had no choice in the matter. Though, she had to admit that rooming with a first-tier performer will give her an idea of how the others act when they aren't welcoming newcomers or performing during the show. That was another reason why she wanted to work with someone like Snake.

They soon arrived to Eris's tent and she pushed back the curtain. "And you're back," she said with a smile. Lilliana put on a fake smile as she entered. She was surprised to see her luggage on the top bed of the bunk bed. "Black is quite something, isn't he? He was kind enough to bring your luggage here when I told him that you'd be staying here."

"Of course he did and didn't tell me," she said in a slightly annoyed tone as she grabbed the suitcase and brought it down back to the floor so she could open it and get her nightgown. "But his karma is unfolding since he has to be in the same tent as Suit."

Eris pouted a bit as she said, "I know these aren't exactly the most desirable sleeping arrangements between the four of you, but I'm sure you'll work it out."

"Four?" Lilliana said as she turned around so her back was facing Eris as she slipped out of her outfit and into the nightgown.

"You, Smile, Black, and Suit, I mean. What are the odds that the two of them would be rooming together?"

"You didn't have anything to do with that, did you?"

"Oh, no. It was a random draw. Even I can't control that, but I can predict the results," Eris said as she looked through a drawer and pulled out a small decorative box. "Want one?"

"What are they?" Lilliana asked as she finished changing and quickly grabbed a cloth and some face cream to wipe her makeup off.

"Just some chocolates from a shop I visited at our last stop. They are quite good and unique," she said as she opened the box and pulled out a chocolate square.

"Really? How so," she said as she put the dirty cloth on the table next to the crystal ball.

"The chocolatier must have put a special spice in it or something that is unlike anything I have ever tasted. Have one and you'll see what I mean," Eris said as she grabbed a chocolate and handed it to her.

Lilliana was hesitant to take it, not fearing it may be poisoned or something since human poisons can't affect her, but because she had to control her love of chocolate. If she ate one, she would want to eat them all. However, after she insisted she took it, Lilliana sighed. "You're lucky I like chocolate," she said as she popped it in her mouth and took a bite. To her surprise, there was a bit of a spice to it, as if chili peppers or something along those lines were added in. However, she could not deny that the chocolate was rich and melted onto her tongue. It was sinfully delicious, almost as if made by a demon. "This is amazing," she said as she finished it.

"You can have more if you like," she offered as she ate one as well and put the box on the dresser. "There's plenty."

"I have to find this shop so I can buy some for myself."

"I'm sad to say that the shop closed some time after I visited. The owner died and his sons didn't want to keep the shop running. Such a tragedy."

"Oh, yeah, unfortunate," Lilliana said with a slight suspicious tone. How convenient that the supposed shop closed after Eris obtained these. Now, she wondered what that spice was that she consumed. However, that thought passed her when she remembered her immunity to any drugs. Even alcohol has no effect on her, though she did enjoy the taste and pretended it did.

Eris yawned and stretched her arms, followed by Lilliana. It was getting late and they knew they should rest for their first real day of being performers. Lilliana climbed the short ladder to reach her top bed and Eris slid into her bed. Lilliana was ready to fall asleep, but Eris interrupted her. "I know this seems random, but I felt a strong protective aura around you since I first met you. How's your brother?"

"How do you—," she said in shock as she sat up.

"Did you forget my line of work that quickly?" Eris said with a chuckle. "You don't need to answer. I've always wanted siblings, but I was never lucky enough to have any. Some people tell me it's blessing, but I know a woman who has countless brothers and tells me it is a living hell."

Lilliana was reluctant to say anything, afraid to indulge in her question in case this was a trap or something. However, she took a deep breath and said, "My brother and I were super close when we were younger, but we got separated before I started working at my first job and he's afraid he would lose me forever. However, we saw each other not too long ago, but I can't say we're as close as we once were."

"Would you like to be closer?"

"Of course, but I don't think that will happen."

"Why not?"

"Conflicting circumstances," she said, avoiding the complete truth.

"I see. How sad, but I hope one day you'll be as close as you once were," Eris said before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Lilliana tried to do the same, but she hadn't thought her brother this in depth in a while. She didn't lie to her at all about their relationship, but she left out significant details, such as that he's a demon and she's a Grim Reaper, head Grim Reapers at the time took her away to recondition her and threatened his life if he tried to save her, and that the "protective aura" must have been his Branding Mark on her chest, which she just remembered everyone can see. She hoped that William didn't notice since there was a strict rule about not colluding with demons and a devil mark would be a clear sign she had done that and more. After some time with her anxious thoughts, she was finally able to fall asleep, thankful that she would get a good number of hours of sleep for once.

* * *

As the sun barely rose, Lilliana was woken up by the sound of Eris walking around the tent. She wasn't trying to be quiet or anything; she opened drawers and closed them normally. Lilliana tried to put a pillow over her head so she wouldn't hear her, but she could hear Eris walking toward her. "Bonjour, belle au bois dormant. Time to get up," she said before leaving her side. Lilliana groaned, but eventually sat up and wiped her eyes of any sleep. The morning air was quite cold inside the tent and she could even see her breath. Ciel must be freezing. True, it was also cold last night, but they wore many layers of clothing, minus Lilliana, so the cold air wouldn't affect them as much.

She looked around and noticed that the only light in this tent came from the slit of the tent, which was barely open. She planned to get more light inside and started to climb out of her bed to the ladder, but when she looked at Eris, she was surprised to see her practically naked with only black panties and fishnet stockings on. She was messing with her hair a bit, not paying any mind that someone was watching her. Although she was facing the full-body mirror, Lilliana could see her reflection and saw her breasts with ease and it was clearly cold in here since her nipples were erect. She looked away quickly with a blush on her cheeks. Eris chuckled as she saw her in the mirror and said, "There's nothing to be ashamed of, dearie. It's just a female body; you have one too. You could say this _is_ your body."

"Wouldn't you want to be somewhat dressed before I woke up?" Lilliana asked, still looking away out of embarrassment.

"Why would I? I'm proud of how I look, so I'll show it off," Eris said before cupping her own breasts, seeing if she could get a reaction out of her, but didn't. "Besides, it's not like you haven't shown off your body to anyone."

"Not the same thing."

"Whatever you say," Eris said before finally putting on a lacy short-sleeved top. "You should start getting dressed. It's almost time for breakfast and you don't want to miss out."

"Oh right."

"And you don't need to wear your costume until later tonight. We don't want to get it dirty before the big show."

"Oh thank Lucifer," Lilliana said, but quickly corrected herself. "I mean, thank God." Since she was raised by demons, old habits die hard.

She expected a displeased reaction out of her, but Eris laughed. "My, what an interesting twist on a common phrase, but be careful. Say that to the wrong person and they'll get the wrong idea."

"I'll keep that in mind," she said before undressing, her back facing Eris and not looking toward a mirror. She quickly put on her Reaper outfit so she would be covered and as she headed out, she saw Eris put on her makeup, but still wasn't fully dressed. "Weren't you the one who said we should hurry?"

"I know, but I'm not that hungry. Once I'm done, I'll get Snake to train you since he knows and trusts me."

"All right," Lilliana said as she left her side and headed to the mess tent, hopefully being able to meet with Ciel and Sebastian before they got distracted.

After a bit of a run, she managed to find the duo, but Ciel looked like he went through a wind tunnel with his disheveled clothes and hair. He wasn't used to dressing himself, so he never learned the finesse that Sebastian had. She couldn't help, but chuckle at his appearance before returning to her composure when she finally approached them. Sebastian, on the other hand, looked like normal, even wearing his suit. "Well someone looks like a fright this morning," she said with a smirk. Ciel was not having it, especially since it was freezing this morning and despite wearing a jacket and scarf, he was still shivering.

"Just as I thought: you can't even dress without help," Sebastian continued in the patronizing tone.

"I was in a bit of a hurry," he excused, but they knew the truth.

However, they noticed how he tied the knot on his eye patch and Sebastian had to do something. "Oh dear, this won't do at all. You'll have a devil of a time untying this yourself with it knotted up so tightly," he said as he began to untie the knot and put on a more secure knot.

Freckles and some other circus members watched at the display and started to laugh, making Ciel embarrassed, but Sebastian and Lilliana didn't have much of a reaction. "Blimey! Is he your mum? Does he do all your washing for you?"

"No, it's a ha—," Ciel was about to say, but he couldn't explain himself without revealing some information he had to keep secret. "I mean, he's good at knots."

"Sebastian, you can't go acting like he's our master while we're here. That would bring up too much suspicion," she said as she huddled closer to the duo

"Just leave me be," Ciel ordered.

"I understand completely. I'll begin straight away," Sebastian said.

He and Ciel walked inside the mess tent to help with breakfast, but Lilliana stopped in her tracks as she heard Dagger's voice calling for her. "Hey, Lily! I'm glad I found yeh."

"Oh, good morning," she said with an uncomfortable smile.

"I got some good news for you. I talked with Snake after our talk yesterday and he said he was willing to at least talk with you about being his assistant."

"R-Really?"

"Yea. Apparently, the snakes seem to already be comfortable with you, or at least that's what he told me. I'm surprised since I didn't think you talked to him."

"Oh, actually, Black and I asked for help around the circus when we first met you. I told you my ability was uncanny."

"I guess so since you even impressed Snake and he has a hard time warming up to people. Come on, I'll take you to him now," Dagger said as he grabbed her hand and practically pulled her to wherever he was running to.

"B-But what about breakfast?"

"Oh don't worry; we have enough people helping out, like Smile and Black. Besides, I'll make sure you get enough food to eat when you're done. It shouldn't take long."

"A-All right. Are we going to his tent?" she asked as she let him drag her.

"Oh no, there are too many snakes in that area and despite them slowly warming up to you, I don't believe all of them have. For safety reasons, we are meeting him and a couple of his snakes near the entrance of the circus."

Lilliana frowned a bit since she thought this would be an amazing opportunity to at least search his tent, but she had to save that for another time.

* * *

William walked into the mess tent after the initial crowd. He wore his costume, as silly as it was, but he didn't feel self-conscious about it. He wasn't looking forward to eating the food they were serving here since he acquired the taste for gourmet food. Plus, he wasn't that hungry; Grim Reapers don't really need to eat a lot of food compared to humans. Even if he only got a loaf of bread, that would be enough for him. However, when he saw that Sebastian was serving the food, he frowned and decided to turn around and leave the tent. He would never taint his body with rubbish made by a demon, no matter how hungry he was. He would just wait for the next meal if he did get hungry.

However, before he could leave the tent, he saw Lilliana walk in with her scanty costume and a full face of makeup. William's breath hitched a bit at the sight of her, but shook his head as he tried to pass by her, but she stopped him. "It's not poisonous, you know."

"Pardon?"

"I'm assuming you didn't eat anything since Sebastian is at the serving table. You should eat something."

He pushed back his glasses. "I'd rather not if I can avoid it."

She sighed. "Well, I'm gonna get something to eat. I was supposed to meet with the snake charmer here, but they wanted me to change into this stupid outfit. I'll try to get something for you—,"

"I will not accept it," he said rather coldly.

"Well you should eat something," she said as she reached into the pocket of her skirt, which she was happy there was one, and pulled out a small bag. "Here."

"And what is this?" he asked, reluctant to take it from her.

"Relax; it's just a bag of chocolate. Eris gave me these this morning, but I'm not really a fan of chocolate. Maybe these will satiate your hunger a bit." He was still reluctant, but eventually took the bag from her and could feel that there were a good number of chocolate squares inside. He opened it and took one out to inspect it. It looked fine, not laced with any poisons or drugs. He then took a bite, splitting the square into two and savored the bite. There was a smoothness that he actually quite enjoyed and he finished the piece. "I'm glad you like them."

"It's better than what that demon could make," he said as he ate another piece.

"Of course you would say that."

"Since I don't require sustenance here, I shall head to the main tent to practice," he said as he proceeded out the tent.

"I might as well join you. Snake is supposed to be there," she said as she followed him.

"Very well." On the other side, Sebastian could see William opening the tent so she could leave and he followed her. He had been watching them this entire time and found it very unusual that she would speak to him casually. She always had this respected hate for him and all Grim Reapers in general and wouldn't act friendly to them, especially by giving them chocolates. Plus, didn't she wear her Reaper outfit earlier?

Outside, they walked a bit before Lilliana started to talk with him. "So, what exactly are you investigating? A simple collection of souls wouldn't have you going undercover like this."

"Well, there is a possible demon connection with the scheduled deaths that could interfere with their collection. As you know, once a soul has been contracted with a demon, it is very rare that we can obtain it. However, that small chance of success is enough for us to try."

"Do you know which soul is contracted?"

"No and that's why I'm here. I have sensed a demon presence here, but with that brat's dog lurking around now, it has complicated my investigation."

"Can't be helped," she said with a shrug. "But you're not that much help for us as well. Just because you're here doesn't mean that they kidnapped the kids. We need more substantial evidence before we can take action."

"I assume you are going to dispose of the kidnappers. How barbaric."

"At least I collect the souls when we have to take that extreme measure. Give me a bit of a break, Will. S'il vous plaît," she said, her accent showing. He looked at her suspiciously, making note of her eye color. They were green, so it was Lilliana. She blushed and explained, "Sorry. I guess I've been around Eris long enough to pick up her accent. I haven't spoken French for centuries."

"Right," he said, still a bit suspicious. The last time she was in France was when she was still under the control of demons, especially her brother. Demons are quite skilled in linguistics and usually could speak many languages and dialects, which they took full advantage of when they transferred her here. She spoke perfect English before she even heard a Reaper's voice. "Oh, before I forget, I have an assignment for you given by Upper Management."

She arched her eyebrow. "That's unusual. They don't trust me with anything."

"Indeed, but they believe you're the best person for this job. It involves someone being released from rehabilitation under probation."

She took a deep breath. "Oh no, _he's_ getting out?"

"Unfortunately," he said as he pushed back his glasses. "I will give you further details about the job when you are not preoccupied with your side mission, but no matter what happens, you cannot refuse this job. If you do a good job, they might trust you more and you'll be able to do more upper level jobs."

"I highly doubt it. A Rouge Reaper like me won't ever get the same respect even I do everything right," she said before stopping in her tracks and looking in no direction in particular. William noticed this and stopped with her. "Rehabilitation; what a shithole that was," she said, lost in her thoughts. "They tried to turn me into something I wasn't: a puppet they could easily control." He was about to say something, but decided to stay quiet. "But even in the worst places, there is a silver lining. For example, our final exam with Grell." William blushed a bit, remembering how naive he acted back then. He was so focused on passing that exam, but when he was partnered with Grell and they were assigned to work with her, all of that changed. "You were crushing on me hard back then," she teased.

The comment took him by surprise. "Can we move on from this?"

"Oh, there's no reason to be embarrassed. We were two young Reapers who were exploring our emotions. You just happened to be the first male that caught my attention."

"I'm surprised Sutcliff's annoying antics didn't."

"Do you really think he would have even thought of me that way if I did have feelings for him? Plus, I don't have a penis, so I can't be the man that will 'milk him for all his worth'."

"Could you not be so vulgar?"

"While wearing this? No way in hell. I bet some guys here are thinking the same way to me that Grell does to you or any guy he finds attractive."

"Don't remind me."

"Plus, I bet I would have done a lot more to you than just a kiss if you didn't stop me back then. Despite being inexperienced, I was given one hell of an education."

William rubbed his forehead as he said, "I'm starting to regret letting you come with me."

"Why? Does the thought make you uncomfortable?"

"Very. Coworkers should not do such things with each other."

"And you really think someone like Ronald doesn't? I mean, if Grell wasn't pining over you or Sebastian and found a man who desired him, you know they would be fucking any chance they got. There's no rule against it."

"But it is heavily implied."

"Is it? I mean, even when they hammered the rules into me during rehabilitation, there was nothing stating such a thing. Not even a restriction for genders, like humans do. I'll bet you a lot of money that there is someone in our sect that is releasing sexual tension with someone as we speak."

"I'd rather not," he said as he starting walking away from her, hoping that she would stop talking about this, but she didn't and followed him.

"Oh, that's right; you're devoid of all emotion, even lust. It's against your nature to react to such things, like a stick in the mud," she said in a mocking tone. "I bet if I kissed you right now, all you would do is push me back and nonchalantly ask me to stop."

"Most likely, so please don't," he said blatantly.

Lilliana paused a bit, but smirked before she rushed up to him and hugged him from behind, making sure her bosom was pressed against his back. "Ms. Kiliamo, what are you—?!"

"Just a little experiment," she said before wrapping her arms around him, but her hands slowly lowered down. "At least you can express surprise."

"This is not the time or place to be—," he tried to say, but he could feel her hand rubbing against his crotch and his thought escaped him for a bit.

"Oh, so you're saying I could do this if we were somewhere private?" she teased as she kept rubbing, eventually feeling some growth.

William quickly grabbed her hand and pulled away violently. "That is enough, Lilliana!" he practically yelled. He was fortunate enough that no one was around to see this scene, especially in this threatening position. Plus, they might think he was about to hit her.

Lilliana pouted a bit before saying, "You don't need to be so harsh. I would have stopped if you told me to."

"I did! You didn't listen!"

She showed sadness before continuing, "At least you can express anger. I guess I'll see you around." She left his side, but turned back to him as she said, "You might want to take care of _that_ before someone sees." She headed to the main tent and disappeared from his sight, much to his relief. What was wrong with her? She never acted like this before. Even when she teased him, it was more to annoy him, not to seduce him. However, what surprised him the most was not her, but himself. He was always able to control himself, even when Grell acted the same way she did. He had brushed himself against Will to get a reaction out of him an alarming amount of times, but nothing happened. However, she rubbed her hand against him just for a quick moment and now, he had quite the reaction. He even lost his composure for a few seconds. This was unlike him. Still, he had to take care of this issue and despite how embarrassing it was, he couldn't go around with a bulge in his pants. That would be indecent. He took a quick breath before he walked back to his tent, hoping that Sebastian wasn't there and that no one would see him along the way.

* * *

Lilliana and Dagger made their way to the front of the main tent, where Snake was waiting for them with a couple of his snakes. He had a distrusting look on his face, which worried her a bit, but Dagger didn't seem to notice. "There yeh are, Snake. I was worried for a bit that you might not show up since you're not used to strangers."

"'We thought that this would be good for him. He's always shy around people, so having one with a familiar talent to him might be able to open him up a bit' says Emily," Snake said with a higher pitch voice.

"That's the spirit! Don't worry, Lily, his snakes are harmless as long as you don't do anything to aggravate them," Dagger said with an innocent smile.

"Oh I'm not worried at all. I trust Snake has trained his snakes well enough. He treats them with the highest respect that they'll do what he says," she said reassuringly.

"Right. Well, I should go training with the other performers. Maybe I'll give Smile some pointers on knife-throwing."

"I'm sure he'll greatly appreciate that," she said, wishing he could see the humiliation in her young master's face when he cannot replicate his skills during the audition. With a wave goodbye, he left their side, leaving the two performers by themselves. She kept her smile, hoping to not alarm the snakes of her true intent, but Snake still kept that same look.

"'So, tell us, how are you able to communicate with us? Did someone teach you?' asks Oscar," Snake said in a lower tone.

"You could say that. I was trained by people who claimed to communicate with different types of animals from snakes to large animals like tigers," she answered as truthfully as she can. Despite being animals, they can sense discomfort from a lie and report it to him, so she had to be as truthful as possible or else.

"'That's quite fascinating! We've never met a human other than Snake who can properly communicate with us. They're usually fakers and only train their snakes to do as they say' says Emily." She relaxed a bit and was glad she seemed to slowly gain their trust.

"I guess my teachers weren't fakes then," she said with a smile. "I was told that you were a late addition to the main cast since they needed a snake charmer. I must congratulate you on your success."

"'Honestly, humans are so easily to please that they see animals being trained as amazing, but it's nothing more than training your dog to sit. It's no wonder we were as popular as we are' quite right, Oscar."

"I couldn't agree with you more. And the main cast seems to be close friends with you."

"'I'm not so sure about that' explains Emily," Snake said with a sad high pitch tone. She listened carefully since anything they say can be helpful to her and the mission. "'Yes, those guys are nice to us and all, but they are still like a family with their own agenda. Plus, Snake likes to keep to himself and not ask too many questions' says Oscar."

She was disappointed by the lack of information given. Like Eris, he wasn't much help in figuring out what the first-tier performers were up to. However, there was something she could get out of him. "I understand that your tent is the first of the exclusive tents. Are there a lot of people that trespass the area?"

"'Other than you and Black the other night, not as often. I guess the warning of venomous snake bites is enough to stop any thieves from going there' says Oscar."

"Right, sorry about that. We didn't know at the time."

"'As long as you don't do it again, all is forgiven' right you are, Emily."

The two proceeded talking for a while about snake charming, but since she was already an expert on it, she didn't need many pointers. In fact, she seemed to become friends with the two snakes and even Snake seemed to warm up to her. Granted, he never smiled during their whole time together, but she knew she at least gained his trust. As far as she knew, there wasn't any sign that they were on to her, which she was relieved by. Despite not getting much information from them, she was able to at least report something to Ciel and Sebastian. She hoped it was enough to take action.

* * *

 ** _What was wrong with Lilliana? What is the mission Will was talking about? Does Snake truly trust her? Reviews are appreciated._**


	5. Emotions Taking Flight

After a while, Lilliana was finally released from "training" to go back to the mess tent and get whatever food was left. She wasn't expecting much since she was told the performers usually fought for their food, but luckily, she wasn't that hungry and if there was absolutely nothing left, she could just munch on the chocolate Eris gave her. She wondered if Eris got any food since she was taking a while getting ready, but she assumed that since she was technically a first-tier performer, she had no problem with feeding herself. Luckily, the air was getting slightly warmer and even though she wasn't cold, she still feared for her young master's health. Now that Sebastian was ordered to be not as attentive to his needs, there was a chance he would be forced to fend for himself, especially if that Freckles kid was following him around. She wished she could watch him struggle being a regular kid, but this was more important.

On the way to the mess tent, she saw William, who seemed a bit lost in his thoughts as he headed to the main tent. She walked up to him and said, "So, I've been meaning to ask you—." However, when he looked at her, he was a bit startled. She looked at him with a confused expression and asked, "Everything all right?"

He paused a bit, trying to find the right words to say. It took him longer than he hoped to act natural, but eventually said, "When did you change your outfit?"

"What do you mean? I haven't changed from this outfit. It's too cold to wear the scanty one they gave me."

"But you did earlier."

She arched an eyebrow as she said, "No I didn't. Are you sure you're all right?"

William returned the confusion as he said, "I'm fine. The real question is if _you_ are all right. We were talking not too long ago about a mission you were assigned to."

"I have no fucking clue what you're talking about."

"Mind your language, Ms. Kiliamo. We were talking about Grell being released from rehabilitation-,"

"Oh no, not that bastard. Can he stay there for a few more weeks? I'm sure he'll need it."

"That's funny coming from you, but we were going to discuss it further when you were done with your training with the snake charmer."

"Will, you're not making sense. We never talked!" she said, her anger slowly building, but when a thought crossed her mind, her eyes turned red with anger. "Please tell me that you did not confuse Eris for me! I already have to deal with that shit constantly and I don't need it from you."

He was a bit frightened by those eyes. Whenever she got angry or was near blood, her eyes would turn that demonic red that showed what she truly was. "I'm positive it wasn't her. Her eyes are purple and the Lilliana I spoke to had green eyes."

"But we never fucking talked! I would remember doing so since anything you said could be beneficial for us," she said, her anger no longer being hidden.

"Language," he said, trying to calm her down, but doing the exact opposite.

"Fuck the language. I'll say whatever I fucking want, especially you're calling me crazy despite I'm right!"

"I never called you crazy," he said, still trying to keep his composure, but failing.

"It's in the way you say things. Remember, I'm the monster that everyone fucking fears at the office. I'm the one who has devoured souls in the past because I was raised by demons. I'm the one who has to deal with whisperings about how I should be disposed of since I'm going to betray the Association! You have no idea the bullshit I have to go through just to be called a Reaper!"

"Lilliana, calm down. You're letting your emotions get the best of you."

"Oh right, because you're the perfect Grim Reaper who can't express his emotions at all! Do you even have emotions anymore or can you blame me for that?"

"What do you mean?"

"That the one time you made yourself vulnerable to me, I took advantage of that and nearly cost you and Grell a passing grade, so you vowed never to do that shit again."

"That is not true at all. It's just that a Grim Reaper must have minimal emotions conflicting with their work. It could compromise their decision making about a soul's chance for a second life."

"Oh, sure it is. That's what you keep telling yourself."

"I'm being serious, Lilliana. If you weren't so easily influenced by demons, maybe you would understand that!" William snapped. He didn't mean to, but it just came out. His anger was building as well toward her, just not at her level. However, she took it harshly as she slapped him on the face. It was enough for him to make him lose his footing a bit, but not to make him lose his balance and fall. He covered his red cheek as she watched her try to breathe deeply to calm down, but could see tears filling her eyes a bit.

"You're such a fucking idiot. Of course you wouldn't know anything about how other people feel, so why bother trying to empathize or even sympathize with others, human or not? I can't believe I thought it was a good idea to stay here with you in this fucking circus rather than collect souls in other parts of London," she said in a loud, but not yelling tone before she rushed to her tent, leaving William pained in more ways than one. What was wrong with her? She usually could control her anger very well, even around Grell, and never lashed out like that. He had to wonder if something was truly messing with her because of the unusual and drastic shifts in personality and it was starting to frighten him. Now, he had to keep his guard up in case there was another unusual encounter. He went through his thoughts again to make sure it was indeed Lilliana he spoke to earlier and remembered her green eyes vividly. There was no mistake it was her, despite how similar Eris was. She can't just change the color of her eyes to match hers, right?

William sighed before walking into the main tent, hoping that he could get this mission over with and everything would go back to normal. Though, he felt guilty about the argument, especially the last thing he said to her. He let his anger get to the best of him and said something he knew wasn't true. She wasn't easily influenced by demons, but rather refused to conform to the Reaper Association. He didn't blame her; she is just an unfortunate victim, but eventually she had to learn and that's what he's been trying to do for about a century now.

* * *

William didn't see Lilliana at all inside the main tent during practice, probably because she couldn't face anyone when she was emotionally compromised. He did notice that her brat of a master and his annoying dog were looking for her, expecting her to gain any clues toward their investigation, but were surprised when she wasn't there. However, Sebastian had to show off his talents by trying to one-up anything William did, just to spite him and it got very annoying. The other performers were impressed by anything they did, but William did not have to work this hard to get a spot in the cast. He had to remind himself that he set the bar high for them when they auditioned. Eventually, Sebastian stopped and went out the tent, leaving Ciel alone with Freckles, who seemed to be dragging him everywhere without his consent.

After some time, he decided to leave and proceed to Lilliana's tent to both apologize for what happened earlier and to clearly tell her what she had to do when Grell was released. He failed to do that earlier for obvious reasons and he needed to make sure she understood completely what to do. He just hoped that no one, especially Sebastian or Eris, was with her so they can have a private conversation. Sadly, that wish was not granted as he got closer to her tent and heard a familiar voice, "That bastard really thought I was Eris and called me crazy when I said I never talked to him."

"I understand, but that's usually something that doesn't rile you up this much," Sebastian said. "You're usually calm and collected in the face of hostility."

"I know, but I don't know what came over me. Maybe I was just finally fed up with his bullshit, but I couldn't control myself. My eyes were even red the last time I checked. Have they changed back?"

"When I arrived, yes, but when we started talking about this, they turned back red."

William thought about turning around and just going back to his tent since it was clear that she wouldn't be able to talk, but stopped when he heard, "The show doesn't start for a few hours and Eris said I should wear my outfit since I need to get used to how I move in it and avoid any accidents." He swallowed before he looked inside through the slit of the tent and could see Lilliana in the costume, looking at herself in the mirror. She didn't wear any of her makeup yet, but she was messing with her hair.

"I agree with her," Sebastian said as he kept a bit of distance from her, but she could see his reflection in the mirror, eyeing her.

She chuckled. "Of course you do. If you had your way, you would have me wearing this all the time."

"Maybe not all the time, but definitely when you're done with your duties and I have you all to myself," he said as he got closer to her. "Besides, it's arousing seeing this mark on you without removing your clothes," he said as he put his hand on the Mark of Lust on her lower back. However, it was sensitive with even the simplest touch and she let out a shudder, making him chuckle.

"I'm glad you enjoy my misery," she said, trying to keep herself together.

"You shouldn't be suffering. You're not self-conscious about your body, so why do you hesitate in showing it off? You have a beautiful body to do so," she said as he started to rub her mark, making her moan a bit before covering her mouth. It was as if he was touching her most private areas of her body.

"I-I have my reasons," she said, hoping he would stop, but also hoping he would take it further.

"Well, whatever reasons you have to not show it to others, I hope it doesn't apply to me," he said as he removed his glove with his teeth. He then placed his bare hand on her mark and made circular motions, clearly getting a reaction out of her. "After all, this mark proves that you are mine and mine alone. Not even your Reaper Association can change that."

William was appalled by what he was witnessing. It was breaking Reaper Law to be in close contact with a demon, but they knew that they had to make an exception with her. After all, she found a way to take her morning job with the promise that she would save Ciel's soul before it would be devoured, but even she knew that it was a slim chance. However, they made it clear that she could not be at all intimate with the demon, no matter how tempting it was. Now, here she was, being manipulated into his conniving scheme and clearly this wasn't the first time. She could get in a lot of trouble for this if she reported this to Upper Management, but . . . he couldn't look away.

"Bold words for a man who is only contracted for a limited time," she said, trying to gain a bit of dominance, but he took it right back when he put more pressure on her mark and rubbed a bit faster, making her moan.

"Indeed, but until then, I'll keep proving to you over and over again that you are mine, understand me?"

"Y-Yes," she let out weakly.

"Yes what?"

"Yes sir," she submitted. Unbelievable, William thought. This was the woman who would never be submissive even if she was playing a role. Now, she was giving herself to a demon who was clearly using her. Fight back or something! Don't be manipulated!

He chuckled. "That's a good girl," he said as he took his hand away from her mark, relieving her a bit, but he soon moved his hands up her body to her breasts and started playing with them through the thin fabric. She closed her eyes and bit her lip, trying not to express how much she wanted this. "I much prefer you in a corset, but this is just as good."

"Wh-What if Eris comes in," she tried to protest, but at this point, she wanted it more than she didn't.

"If she is just as good as you say, then she should already know what we are doing," he said as he started to untie the lace of her top until eventually, it loosened and her breasts were exposed. He then started to fondle them, but she shuddered as she felt his cold hand on her skin. "Oh, that was quite the reaction I got out of you. Perhaps I should stop and warm up my hands—,"

"No, please, don't," she begged, eyes red with lust. He smirked, knowing she truly wanted it now. She won't protest now.

"Are you sure? Even if I touch you here, skin to skin," he teased as he put his hand under her skirt and started rubbing her through her panties. She moaned freely, letting herself enjoy the pleasure. As much as she usually played hard-to-get with him, she would like this to happen more often than it has. The only thing stopping her was sleep and work. So, whenever this happened, she would give in fully and not hold back, that is, after she was slowly dominated with his sweet words and subtle actions.

"Yes, sir, I want it," she plead. He obliged as he slid his hand under her panties and started to tease her pussy with his cold hand. She practically jumped at the contact, but his other hand held her in place as he bit her neck, hard enough to draw some blood from her. He was a demon after all and liked the taste of her blood.

William couldn't pull away even if he wanted to. He was hypnotized by this submissive Lilliana, who allowed her body to be played with. As much as he hated Sebastian for his demon nature, he soon became envious of him. He wanted to be the one that she was like this to. He never got to meet her and wanted to get to know her more. How dare he be the only one that gets to have her.

Once he released his bite, Sebastian whispered into her ear, "I'll help you forget about your anger, even if it's only temporary. Besides, you need to remain calm in case he has information helpful for us," he said as he guided her to the table and sat her on it. He then got on one knee in front of her as he said, "Let me release all this tension inside of you." He proceeded to remove her panties and absentmindedly threw them on the floor close by. He then inserted his slightly warmer fingers into her teasingly slow, making her whimper in anticipation. He looked up at her and saw those eyes that were begging for more and he smirked. "Would you like me to go faster?"

"Mhm," she said, hoping that would be enough, but it wasn't.

"Use your words. Tell me how much you want it," he said as he started to pick up the pace slightly, her juices slowly starting to coat his fingers.

"P-Please go faster, sir," she said, slightly moving her hips a bit to match his rhythm to get more pleasure out of this.

"If that's what you want," he said as he curled his fingers inside her and moved them faster. She moaned louder and even flung her head back. She was lost in lust and didn't care if anyone heard her moans or saw her in this position. William, however, made sure he wasn't being seen, both by them, or anyone around him. If anyone approached him and asked what was happening, they would immediately stop and act like nothing happened. Luckily, most of the performers were still practicing or taking a shower, so no one was around to call him a pervert. Even though he couldn't see what exactly he was doing to her, he had an idea since he observed humans doing many sexual actions to the point that it wasn't exciting anymore, or at least, he thought.

However, he got a clear idea when she asked, "Please use your tongue there."

Sebastian looked up at her as he said, "I love a girl who knows what she wants." He obliged and started to eat her out, savoring the taste of her juices.

She flung her head back again and arched her back a bit. "Mmm, fuck." She started moving her hips to maximize the pleasure, but he held her down as he rubbed his tongue against her slit and circling her clit, his nails digging into her skin. She was fortunate he was skilled at this and his tongue could have her cumming quickly if he so wished. If he truly wanted to be a sadist, he wouldn't be as aggressive and watch her squirm and beg for more, but since they couldn't take long, he made sure to be aggressive.

After a bit of time, he could tell that she was about to climax by the high pitch of her moans. She even put her hand on his head and gripped his hair a bit, not too forcefully. When he knew she was close, he put his hand on her clit and put more pressure to ensure she would cum quickly. Sure enough, her moans turned into desperate whimpers in no time. She even tried to pull away so his tongue and hand wouldn't feel so fucking good, but he pulled her back. "Ah ah ah, if you want to cum, you have to tell me."

"P-Please," she said in between moans. She was at her limit and knew she couldn't last much longer.

"Please what? You know you can't cum unless I tell you to."

"P-Please l-let—," she repeated, but couldn't get her words out before she came with a loud moan. She was shaking as she came and once she was done, she was breathing heavily, but she knew she was in trouble.

He clicked his tongue. "That's a naughty thing you did, Lily. You know what happens when you disobey me."

"I'm sorry, sir," she said in between breaths.

"Apologizing isn't going to make you learn your lesson. Turn around and bend over on the table," he ordered. She pouted, but did as she was told with her face looking towards the slit of the tent. If she looked closely, she could have seen William still watching them, fixated on her and the way she behaved. "Hands behind your back." She did as she was told and folded her arms behind her, knowing exactly what he was going to do, but excitedly waited for it. Without warning, she spanked her hard enough to make her yelp in both pain and pleasure. She moved her hips a bit to ride out the sting, but he would spank the other cheek if she moved. She bit her lip with every smack to her ass, but as she opened her eyes, she thought she saw someone outside the tent.

However, before she could say anything, she could feel something hard slip inside her roughly and moaned loudly. In no time, he was fucking her roughly, not allowing her any time to think or process what she thought she saw. He held onto her arms with one hand and held on to her hip with his other. She was in ecstasy with all this pleasure and completely forgot about what she saw earlier. At this point, if someone was watching, she would put on a show.

Suddenly, a gust of wind hit the tent, causing the slit to open up more unexpectedly, showing that William was outside. He tried to hide himself, but unfortunately, she saw him despite Sebastian not paying attention. Once she saw him, she started to get up and told Sebastian to stop. He was confused, but pulled out of her and didn't force her down despite wanting to keep dominance over her. She quickly tied the lace of her top to cover her breasts and quickly put on her panties before rushing out to catch who it was. It couldn't be who she thought it was. No, it couldn't . . . Could it? She rushed outside before any human could escape, but there was no one there. She took a deep breath, but noticed more performers were lurking around the grounds. "Everyone must be done with practice by now. We should probably get back to Ciel in case he might need our help," she said as she walked back in.

"But I have been given orders to not attend to him as often. He should be fine on his own," he said in protest. He wanted to continue and never cared about what humans saw or think.

"Still, we know he is not in his element right now and his roommate might exhaust him. We should at least see how he is doing."

Sebastian sighed. "All right. I'll locate him," he said in defeat as he walked out of the tent. "I hope you are at least feeling better."

"I am. Thank you," she said as she kissed him and he left the tent. She didn't care if someone saw him leaving her tent, even if they viewed her as a slut. She believed that a good number of these girls did the same and without much thought anyway. However, if it was who she thought it was, she could be in so much trouble, but why would he be watching?

* * *

William quickly ran to his tent, afraid that either Sebastian or Lilliana would come in to confront him. His nerves were starting to get the best of him, even having to take deep breaths to calm himself. He got caught! Although the wind didn't show him fully, it was still enough for her to possible recognize him. He hoped she didn't, but it was enough for her to stop. Maybe she didn't want to get caught by _anyone_ , but then again, her moaning was a bit loud for someone who didn't want to catch any attention. Quite the submissive girl she became. She was a lot different from earlier today when she . . .

He looked down and cursed at himself. Not again. This was a very rare instance; nothing got him aroused, not even watching people have sex. He thought he was immune to it, but today proved him wrong. Granted, this is not the absolute first time he got an erection, but it was the first time in about a century or so. However, he usually could wait it out and it would go away, but he knew this wouldn't be the case. He had a strong stimulus and he couldn't get it out of his head.

He sighed as he walked toward the corner of the tent near the front so people wouldn't see him if they peeked in. Plus, it gave him a few extra seconds to hide himself if anyone barged in. It would be very unprofessional if anyone, not just Lilliana, saw him like this. When he knew he wouldn't get caught, he took a deep breath before he unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock. He couldn't believe he was doing this, but he spat in his hand and reluctantly started to stroke himself. He let out a little moan since it was sensitive, but made sure to keep quiet. He hoped to make this quick, but it wouldn't happen unless he thought of something that truly aroused him. Despite every fiber of his body telling him not to, he swallowed his pride and thought about what happened earlier with Lilliana.

The girl he saw in that tent . . . she was so unlike herself. If anything, he was used to the more dominant girl he encountered earlier today, but he never saw her submit to anyone fully like she did with that demon. He was jealous of him, as much as he hated to admit it. He hated him so much more for having her to himself and touching her body the way he did. She was even begging for him to touch her, something he couldn't believe she would do for anyone. She is a strong-willed girl who never cared for the preying eyes of men and might even punch them if they got too physical with her. Around William, she acted coldly, which he accepted, but he wondered how she would react if he did try to act . . . like that. When they first met, he was enthralled with her and vice versa, to the point that they started a very short-lived romance. They kissed, but he stopped her because he was inexperienced and though she was too, which he found it hard to believe, she could have taken it further if they wanted to. Oh, what would have happened if they did? They would have probably had an awkward, yet intimate moment together. Now, he has observed many sexual acts through Cinematic Records and she clearly has had practice now. Perhaps if they slept together now, it would be quite pleasurable, especially on his end.

He stroked a bit faster, imagining how she would if given the chance. He imagined her hand on his cock, rubbing the tip before sliding her hand up and down his shaft. Would she be the dominant tease she was this morning or the submissive girl she was this afternoon? Either way worked for him, but he did admit that he would like to see her submissive side more often, begging for him to touch her warm skin. He feared he wouldn't be enough to satisfy her, but she could always teach him. Would she be willing? Eventually, he imagined her mouth wrapped around him, first swirling her tongue around the tip. At this point, he moaned a bit louder, just imagining the pleasure her mouth would give him. Up and down her head would go, not giving him a break. She probably would want him to lose his composure so he could enjoy her fully. Her warm mouth, her wet tongue caressing his cock, her pleading eyes that wanted to taste every drop he had to give her. She would probably be desperate to make him cum and he wouldn't hold back. She must want it badly, or at least, she must want his cock inside of her, making her cum over and over again. Despite what that demon said, he would make her his for the night.

With that last thought, he felt himself climax. "Oh, Lilliana," he said with a moan and finally let out his semen, making sure to aim for the ground and not on the tent, where it could stain. William took a few breaths, relieved it was over. He couldn't believe where his thoughts took him, but he had to do whatever it took to release this tension. Still, he felt a bit shameful for what he did as he got dressed and went out to wash his hands from this. Luckily, there was a pond close by the circus grounds, away from everyone else. He quickly dipped his hands in the cold water and scrubbed, but jumped when he heard a voice. "You know we have showers, non?"

He turned around quickly to whom he thought was Lilliana, but luckily, it was only Eris. It was clear with her purple eyes and the slim purple dress. He got up and said, "Y-Yes, but I only wanted to wash my hands."

She pouted. "Suit, if you're self-conscious about washing with other men, it's fine."

"I'm being serious. I will catch an illness if I shower in this weather," he explained calmly.

"Trust me, we're not big fans of the weather either, but we need to keep ourselves clean, especially after practice. Besides, it looks like you had an intense workout just now," Eris said as she crossed her arms, her right eye twitching a bit. William was confused, but wiped his forehead and sure enough, it was moist. He didn't break a sweat when he practiced in the main tent earlier.

"I-I'll take one later today," he said before placing his hand back in the water to wash it.

"Bien, but do keep in mind that it'll get colder when the sun goes down. This is probably the warmest it will be all day," she said as she turned around and walked away. He sighed in relief, glad that he didn't give any hint of what happened earlier. However, with her back turned, Eris smirked as she put a hand over her right eye. "My, my, his interest in her has gotten stronger. Never imagined he would do _that_ and think about her so vividly. Makes my job easier."

* * *

Lilliana and Sebastian were helping dry off their young master, who was soaking wet in the freezing weather since he had an accident in the communal outdoor showers. He refused to take a shower, not only because of the cold weather, but because that would expose the branding mark on his back from the worst days of his life. He didn't want anyone to see that, so he managed to run away from Freckles and his servants found him and dried him off. He truly was about to give up and just go home, but with some encouragement, his pride returned and they discussed the next step in their plan. "Once we search the first tier tents, we can go home. I thought we would be able to work our way up the ranks, but with these retched conditions, I simply cannot last that long. I'm already approaching my limit," Ciel said as he began changing into dry clothes with Sebastian's help, of course.

"You and me both," Lilliana said to herself, but still loud enough for them to hear.

"Personally, I would find brute force easier than infiltration. The Reaper keeps me from moving freely at night," Sebastian said before looking at her. "Plus, I hear he is become quite a nuisance to you, Lilliana"

"Indeed. Along with Eris. With those two, I don't know if my sanity will last."

"Unfortunately, the fact that he's here isn't enough to prove the circus guilty of anything, so behave yourselves for now. Any information gathered could still be useful," Ciel said before Sebastian put a jacket over him.

"We know," she said, still feeling a bit frustrated in more ways than one.

"The time to strike is during a show, when we can expect them all to be away from their tents. Before anything, I need to find a way to slip free of that clingy, freckled chap who tails me everywhere. If I can't move freely, there's no point." Ciel said.

They decided to split up from their meeting, but Sebastian can still sense Lilliana's uneasiness. He walked up to her and asked, "Are you sure you're feeling better?"

"As good as I can be here. Once we finish this investigation, I will be so happy to return to a place where things make sense. Still, I have to talk to Will. Apparently, I'm assigned a mission that is outside of either investigation," she said, conveniently leaving out a very important, flamboyant detail. "But since we argued earlier, we haven't been able to discuss it."

"Well, just remember to keep a level head when you do. Last thing we need is for you to get in any kind of trouble."

"Too late for that," she said before walking ahead of them to her tent. She had to be alone for a bit and think things over.

* * *

Minutes before the show were frantic as the performers got their last minute props and costumes ready. The second tier performers had to gather everything the first tier performers needed, like headpieces and knives, and do so in a frantic pace. Everything had to be perfect and tested before everyone arrived. Some performers were lucky enough to perform, but there were some who weren't able to get the chance, including, luckily, the trio and William, who was keeping his distance from Lilliana. She noticed this, but decided it was for a good reason. Right now, her priority was her young master's mission.

Soon, all the performers that were needed for the show ran to the main tent, leaving the costume/prop tent vacant except for the four of them. This was their chance. "Sebastian, Lilliana, I managed to lose Freckles somehow. Let's check the tents while we have the chance. We should only need ten minutes or so."

"Of course, yes, my lord," Sebastian said and she nodded her head.

They went out in a hurry, but Lilliana stayed a bit behind to quickly tell William, "After this, we can talk about that mission earlier." William nodded and she proceeded out the tent to follow them. However, she noticed Joker, who was carrying Wendy on his back, and Peter talking with the duo. Can nothing go right?

When she walked up to them, Joker lit up as he said, "Hey, Lily. I was just asking Black to fill in for Wendy since she twisted her ankle. Perhaps yeh would like to perform as well or at least stay to the sidelines as a spotter?"

"Oh, no thanks. I'm afraid I am not that talented with trapeze. There's a reason why I haven't tried it yet," she said.

"Very well then. There isn't much time for the act, Black, so yeh have to be quick about it," Joker said as the three performers ran to the infirmary tent.

Sebastian turned to his master ad said, "He's left me with little choice. My lord, I must attend to this. We'll find another chance."

"We don't know if there will even be another chance. Freckles follows me around every second of the day. You may be needed in the show, but I should have some time. The only trouble is the snakes," Ciel said.

"Leave that to me, my lord. Due to a conversation earlier, I have gained the trust of a couple of those snakes and can keep them away as you search," Lilliana said.

"Then I believe it would be fitting for you to watch our young lord until I return."

"Of course," she said with a smile.

"All right, let's move quickly."

"Yes, my lord," the two servants said, as the two of them ran to the first tier tents and Lilliana walked in first, hissing for them not to attack. The snakes aimed their heads at the other two performers, but she must have hissed something back to comfort them since they proceeded to slither toward her.

"So, she can speak to snakes?" Ciel asked.

"Quite. It is a common animal language for demons to acquire and she is no exception," Sebastian explained as they watched her enter Snake's tent with the snakes following her. Sebastian made sure that no tricky snake was slithering around as a guard dog before saying, "All clear, my lord."

"According to the program, your act starts at 7:50 and the encore is at 8 o'clock. If that schedule is correct, then that should allow you roughly a ten-minute window to free the snakes before having to return. I'll take the opportunity to look through their tents," Ciel explained.

"But are you sure you shall be all right by yourself? You don't even have Lilliana to protect you," Sebastian inquired.

"I'll be fine. Hurry on back to the show. They'll be getting suspicious."

"Very good, my lord. At once," he said as he rushed to the costume tent, put on his costume and makeup, and rushed into the tent. However, nothing could prepare him for this shocking detail Joker omitted. "I don't understand. I thought Wendy was the only one injured," he asked as he looked at Suit, who was not happy at all with this scenario.

"Well, yeah, but you can't very well expect Peter to hold your weight, can you?" Dagger explained. "If Lily had agreed to help yeh, then you could have performed with her."

"Of course," Sebastian said, regretting both their decision for her to stay with Ciel. Though, even if she agreed, then the snakes would have been slithering around.

"And this was the best solution? I can't begin to express my distaste for this bad idea," William said with more-than-unusual anger heading toward the demon.

"While I don't much care for it, either, what option do we have?"

"You could get Lily to perform with you since you two seem to be more compatible," he said with some bite in his speech.

"I'm afraid she is not as skilled as you and I are. She would much prefer staying close to the ground," he lied, trying to stay consistent with what she told Joker earlier.

William knew he was lying, but figured that he had a reason for it, especially since she and the young boy were not by his side like usual. He sighed as he said, "Working with vermin like him. How could I have sunk so low?"

"Now, come on, you two! You're up," Dagger said as he pushed the two deities out into the main stage, where Joker introduced them as the crowd cheered. With reluctance, they climbed opposite poles up to the trapeze and took hold of the swings. They swung down, Sebastian showing off his skills to make a good show. However, after some time, they had to do some tricks by catching each other, but William was not giving him a cue to let go, or at least, if he did, he wanted him to fall. "What precisely are you doing? Stick out your hands already," he asked in frustration.

"They can tell me to perform with you, but I would sooner die than take your filthy hands, vermin. I fear they might rot off," William said. The hands that got to touch—he had to focus.

Meanwhile, the other performers watched with displeased looks from backstage. "They're just swinging up there! What are they doing?" Beast commented.

"This won't make for a very good show," a feminine voice said from behind them. They turned around and saw green-eyed Lilliana with her costume and makeup on. She acted confidently in her outfit as she looked up at the pitiful act. "At this rate, they'll be laughed at."

"I thought you didn't want to join, or at least, that's what Black told me," Dagger said, confused as to why she was here.

"At this rate, I have no choice," she said before hearing a tiny tear sound ad saw that Beast's bodice was ripped.

"Ah, this was my favorite one too," she said in annoyance.

However, Dagger got flustered and quickly shouted, "Nothing to see here! Everyone look away!"

"You should get it fixed. Eris should be able to sew it back," Lilliana said, trying to distract them.

"No, I have a spare in my tent. I'll be right back before the encore," she said as she started to leave, making sure to put a small blanket around her to cover her top.

Lilliana sighed. "I guess it can't be helped," she said as started walking to the middle of the stage. Nobody knew what she was doing, especially the two deities who were certain she wouldn't be here. She walked up to the middle and yelled, "Oi, Suit, mind helping a lady up with your stick?" The audience laughed, but they were still very confused. However, William did lower his Death Scythe so she could hang on as he retracted it back and she even gestured the crowd like a true performer. The crowd cheered wildly as they watched her cling onto William before she flung herself so Sebastian could catch her.

"What on earth are you doing here? I told you to care of our master while I was-," Sebastian tried to say, before being interrupted.

"I don't think we have enough time to discuss this," she said before she let go so William could catch her, but he was a minute too late and she started falling to the ground, making the audience gasp collectively. However, with his quick thinking, he extended his Death Scythe so she could catch it with ease. The crowd cheered louder than before as he retracted it back up. However, when she reached to the top, she climbed up to him so they were facing each other at eye level. She smirked and held onto him tightly, making him flustered. However, when Sebastian looked at her mark on her lower back, he noticed something weird: despite being the same color and similar look, it wasn't exact. That was impossible: it should be an exact replica of the one on his hand. Something was wrong. She whispered in William's ear, "Don't get too excited, Will." With flushed cheeks and a cue from her, he flung her back in the air toward Sebastian, who caught her and with that, they flung themselves into the air toward the landing pads up on the poles, ending their routine. The crowd cheered loudly as Sebastian and Lilliana smiled and waved to the audience. William, on the other hand, was relieved that this was over and he could go back to his tent.

The performers descended down and a crowd gathered around them to congratulate them on their act. However, Sebastian kindly excused them from the crowd so he could talk to her in private. Though, even with her mischievous smile, he said to her in a serious tone, "You're not Lilliana."

She lost her smile and said, "What are you talking about? Of course I am."

"You may look like her, but even you can't perfectly replicate another devil's marking," Sebastian said as he walked up to her and touched the mark, only to get no reaction. He would grab her by her throat to get his answers, but they were still around people and he couldn't. "Now answer me, who are you?"

She chuckled as she closed her eyes. "I should have known better than not assume that a demon would figure me out. Well done monsieur," she said as her left eye turned purple.

"This explains a lot, but why take on this form? Who are you after?" Sebastian said with frustration boiling in his blood.

"Black, I don't think you have time to get all the answers you want. Besides," she said smugly as her right eye turned blue. "I think there is a certain young boy who requires your attention."

As much as he wanted to figure out why this bitch was here, she was right and used his super speed to rush to his young master before Beast could return. Knowing his luck, he was in Beast's tent. Eris smiled as she watched him rush off and then looked back at the main stage as she watched Joker announcing the final act. As he walked back, he looked at her and noticed her multicolor eyes before her eyes turned green. "I thought you were loyal to Doc. I didn't think you would feed off another person," he said rather nervously.

"I wouldn't have to if he fed me more often and with more passion. I'm getting pretty hungry. Besides, I think I found someone who will fill me quite nicely."

"I'm pretty sure Doc would be mighty upset if he found out his girl was cheating on him."

"Like he has time to be away from his work. He and you both know the type of girl I am and better accept it," she said rather angrily, scaring Joker. She took a deep breath. "Je suis désolé. I'm just hungry. Don't worry, I'll satiate it very soon."

* * *

 ** _How does William feel for Lilliana? Why was she so angry with him earlier? Who is Eris? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	6. Flawed Liaison

Lilliana was having a friendly conversation with the snakes, which was something she didn't expect to do today. She kept herself calm as she could so they wouldn't sense her worry for the young lord exploring on his own. She told them that she wanted to talk with the remaining snakes so they could get used to her. They seemed to trust her since she could actually communicate with them. Some asked why Black and Smile were following her and she said that they were good friends, but told them to stay behind to not cause trouble. Luckily, they believed her and slithered in the tent, letting their guard down as Ciel looked through the tents. As she distracted them, she wanted to make it clear that she didn't want Snake to know she was at the tent to alarm anyone, especially since she wasn't allowed to be there and they seemed to understand, which relieved her. The conversation they had was a bit of repeat of the one she had with Emily and Oscar, but also adding some unimportant things, like food and excessive noise. Lilliana had to feel interested, but they could sense her not being invested as much as they were. Unlike Snake, she wasn't in charge of their well-being. If anything, she could only suggest some things to him. Plus, this was a good way of getting to know the names of the snakes and which breed they were.

However, things took a turn when one of the snakes, Goethe she believed, hissed, "That's unusual. How come Beast is coming to her tent during a show?"

"Wait what?" she hissed back, her fear being sensed.

"My my, someone doesn't want to be discovered," Oscar said as he slithered close to her.

"I just worry that Beast will find me here and tell the others," she lied, but not completely.

"Don't worry. We'll make sure you don't get caught," Emily hissed, trying to calm her down, which worked, but not completely. She was confident she earned their trust now, or was it some kind of mind-controlling power she acquired? Whatever the case, they were on her side. However, she remembered that Beast was about to enter her tent and couldn't warn Ciel about it. She feared the worst as she heard Beast pass by the tent on her way to hers. She expected to hear a whole lot of yelling, but instead, it was quiet. Too quiet. After some time, Beast came back out of her tent and walked back to the main tent. When the coast was clear, she took a deep breath.

"Thank you," she hissed to the snakes. "But if you don't mind, I should be leaving before everyone comes back. If you want, I can find you some food if you wait here as a thank you for chatting with me."

"Oh please do! We're starved," Oscar hissed. She nodded and headed out the tent. She took a deep breath, but she had to check the other tents to make sure Ciel was fine before getting the snake food. She walked into Beast's tent and saw that Sebastian had miraculously appeared and must have hid him and the young lord in a trunk before Beast came in.

"I'm glad you're all right, my lord," she said as she walked to them climbing out of the trunk. "The snakes should still be in the tent until I give them some food."

"That snake-charmer trick has come quite handy," Ciel said. She looked at Sebastian, who had a stern look on his face as he observed her eyes. She was uncomfortable and unsure why he was doing this, but was interrupted when Ciel said, "I couldn't find much, but I did find these photographs in each of the tents." Sebastian and Lilliana looked at the photo of a wealthy-looking man with his arm around a young Beast's shoulder. Although blocked partially, they could see a sign that had "workhouse" displayed. All the first tier performers, excluding Snake and Eris, had to have come from this place. "Can you see anything of importance?"

"Yes, there is an imprint from the signet ring. I think I've seen it recently," Sebastian said.

"Imprint? You mean you can make out details that small?" Ciel asked in both shock and wonder.

"Yeah, can't you?" Lilliana asked. Ciel eyed her angrily, making her remember that humans can't see things as clearly as demons, but still had to make fun of him. "You know your vision is bad when a _Grim_ _Reaper_ is asking if you can see clearly."

"Well you're different since you were gifted with a demon's eyesight," Sebastian said, trying to defend his master from more humiliation.

"I know," she said as she looked back at the photo.

"Now then, if memory serves, this matches the seal at the base of Beast's prosthetic leg," he said, reminding her of their first encounter when he was close to—she had to focus.

"The signet ring, the seal, the workhouse. We need to know more. Who is this man?" Ciel asked.

However, Sebastian looked at his pocket-watch and said, "It's almost eight o'clock. I think we had better stop for today. Besides, there is something I need to discuss with—,"

"I still have to look through Joker's tent," Ciel interrupted.

"My lord, I don't think that's a good-," Lilliana said, but was interrupted as well.

"I should be able to manage. The encore will give me enough time. I want all of this to be over today," Ciel said with determination clear in his voice. They had to admire that about him, when that determination wasn't stubbornness. "You need to go back so they don't suspect us. Now, move," he said as he ran out to the next tent.

Lilliana said, "Well, if he's going to be stubborn, I might as well feed the snakes like I promised."

"I'm afraid we don't have time. You became an unexpected performer in the routine with your coworker and me," Sebastian said, hinting at much more than that.

"You had to perform with Wi—wait, I was with you?! That's impossible. I was speaking with the snakes the entire time," she said in a shocked tone.

Though, he didn't explain anything, but instead, grabbed her hand and guided her to her tent. "Now, you must hurry and change into your costume. The performers expect you to return with me—,"

"Wait! Hold on! Please tell me that you're not confusing me with Eris again," she said as her eyes turned red with anger. She could not handle another mix-up, especially from him.

"I'm not confusing you with her. I know it was her, but her eyes were green just like yours."

"That's impossible. Humans can change eye colors."

"No, but deities, especially demons, can," he said.

She thought about it and her eyes widened. "You're not suggesting that Eris is a demon, are you?"

He nodded. "A certain type, in fact, that we should be very weary of."

* * *

After the encore, Lilliana and Sebastian left without a word and quickly scoured the circus grounds to find small rodents that would fill the snake's stomachs and they hissed a thank you to her. They made sure to not get caught by the other performers before retreating back Sebastian's tent so he could wipe off his makeup and remove the extra pieces to his costume. Lilliana waited outside since William was changing out of his costume into his usual suit. She stayed in her outfit and makeup since she had to discuss with both men about certain things, but also had to warn William about Eris. She has interacted with him pretending to be Lilliana, so she wondered what her plan was. There seemed to be no clear reason for it, so she had to discuss it further with Sebastian since he figured out who she truly was.

"You're free to come in," Sebastian said from inside the tent. At that cue, she walked in to find Sebastian waiting for her and William sitting on his bed, looking at a file that she bet he wouldn't let her see despite knowing practically everything now. However, when he looked up at her, he had to look back down quickly to avoid visibly blushing. That outfit reminded him of what happened earlier.

"You think Ciel will be all right by himself? The snakes can slither around wherever they want now that they're fed," she asked.

"If he were in any danger, I would sense it," he said with confidence, making her smile a bit.

"If you don't mind, would you two take your conversation outside? I would much prefer as little noise as possible at the moment," William said, his face still looking down.

She sighed. "I thought you were the type of person who likes transparency and knowing this demon's every step so he can't devour souls."

"I do, but when you are here to track him, I don't need to work so hard. Besides, that is below my pay-grade."

Lilliana's eyes turned red, feeling offended by his absent-minded comment, but Sebastian put a hand on her shoulder, noticing her anger. She took a deep breath, but her eyes didn't turn back green. "We still need to discuss about the mission, _Suit_. When I'm done talking with Sebastian and my young lord, then we should get to it."

"Understood," he said as he closed the file he was reading and looked for the one sent from Headquarters.

"Now, about Eris. She's—," Sebastian was about to say, but Ciel unexpectedly walked into the tent, coughing as he did, and grabbing everyone's attention. "My lord!"

"One of those blasted poisonous snakes could have easily bitten me! I thought she was in charge of keeping them away while I searched?!" he yelled.

"Well it turns out I was needed for a show. There's a lot more to this place than we originally thought," she tried to explain.

"But that still doesn't excuse Sebastian since he knew I was still there!"

"You ordered us to return to the performers to avoid suspicion, meaning that she wouldn't be there to distract the snakes as before, but she made a promise of treats to keep them in the tent while she wasn't there. We were only following your orders. Is there a problem?" Sebastian said with a smile, almost enjoying the young lord's anger. "Rest assured, my lord; I won't let you die, not while our contract is in effect, but if you make certain mistakes, you may be in for some suffering. Of the non-fatal variety, of course. Every game should have an element of danger to it. You're such an avid player; I just assumed you shared my opinion on the matter."

"Ha! You know what I'd call your stupid little game? Demonic," Ciel said, making the two servants chuckle.

"You do flatter me."

"What's of greater importance now is the letter I found in Joker's tent mentioning my name," Ciel said with a cough before walking to the bunk beds and leaning against it. He was feeling a bit weak and needed to support himself. "It included my rank and the location of my family estate. There was even a brief biographical sketch. As for the sender—,"

"Mind yourself," William said as he extended his Death Scythe to move Ciel away from the line he created in the dirt. "You are three centimeters into my territory. That is unacceptable."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" she asked with her red eyes flaring.

"The master must observe our agreed-upon boundaries. If he fails to do so, what's to distinguish him from the dog?"

"You motherfu—," Lilliana tried to say, ready for a fight, but Sebastian covered her mouth and held her back.

"If you would excuse us, we'll be taking our leave and doing as you requested earlier. Once she is calmer, we'll send her back," Sebastian said as he dragged her out and Ciel followed. William took a breath of relief, thankful he didn't have to deal with angry Lilliana again.

Outside the tent, Sebastian let her go, probably a bad idea, but luckily, she didn't go back to fight him. "That fucking bastard! First he insults me and then he insults you both. I swear, the next time I see him, I'm gonna-,"

"Have a civilized conversation with him about your mission so you don't get into trouble with your superior," Sebastian finished. She looked at him with disapproval, but took a deep breath before continuing their talk.

"Anyway, as I was going to say earlier, the sender used the name 'Tom, the piper's son'," Ciel explained.

"Isn't that a Mother Goose character?" she said, her eyes slowly turning back to green as she began to calm down.

"Yes, it seems like a strange alias," Ciel said before coughing. He was starting to cough a lot, now they thought about it. "Also, the letter was sealed in wax with a crest bearing a horse and the letter K."

"Then it is the same as the seal that I saw. Signet rings are generally engraved with a motif and initial that represents the bearer or his family. That means that Tom the piper's son must have a coat of arms featuring a horse, probably indicating a knighthood or even a soldier," Sebastian explained.

Ciel coughed. "Possible, but not necessarily If he is a philanthropist, however, he must have some status. The heraldic authorities have all coats of arms in their registers. We have enough criteria to narrow it down. So however many there may be, you two should be able to identify the correct one." As he kept talking, they noticed he was breathing heavier and had his hand over his mouth, as if he was holding something back. "The missing children, the circus, Tom the piper's son, and me. They're connected, but how—," he said before coughing uncontrollably.

The two servants look very worried and eventually, Ciel threw up and starting coughing more. He fell to his knees and started wheezing as Sebastian grabbed him to make sure he wouldn't fall. Freckles happened to walk by and saw what was happening. "Hey, what's wrong? Smile!" she yelled as Ciel passed out in Sebastian's arms.

"Quickly, we need to get him to Doc," Lilliana said as the three of them ran to get help. Freckles had a bit of trouble keeping up with them, but neither of them knew what was happening. Sebastian seemed to be the most worried since he was supposed to be able to deal with any situation, but this was far beyond his quick thinking.

Eventually, they reached Doc's tent and Freckles said, "Oi, Doc! Something's wrong with Smile!"

"Oh no! Quickly get him to a bed so I can see what's wrong," he said as he wheeled his way to the closest bed. Sebastian carefully placed the young lord as Doc used a stethoscope on Ciel. "What happened?"

"Well, he was coughing a lot, but soon, he vomited and started wheezing. Next thing we know, he's passed out and we immediately brought him here," Lilliana explained. She was clearly worried for the boy, even though she knew he wasn't going to die. It just scared her that not even Sebastian knew what to do.

"Coughing and wheezing, huh?" Doc said as he listened carefully to Ciel's shallow breathing. "Hmm, I see. It's an asthmatic fit."

"Asthma? Are you certain? We've lived together for three years now and I've never known anything of the sort to afflict him before today," Sebastian inquired. How could he have not known about this?

"If he hasn't had an attack in three years, he may be more or less cured, but sometimes patients relapse if they catch a cold or experience sudden stress."

"He has had colds before, but they were never like this," she explained.

"It seems probable there were multiple triggers this time. And I hear he had a bath outside earlier with the rest of those loons. It's no wonder he took a chill!" Doc said. Freckles looked down as he said that, thinking it was her fault this happened. "Anyway, if he rests for a bit, he should recover and awaken within the hour. For now, all we can do is wait and keep him warm. I hear mint oil can help."

Doc rolled away from the bed to gather some things for a medicine when he did wake up. Despite the attack on their mind, the two servants remembered that a certain woman was romantically involved with this man. Lilliana tried to remain calm as she asked, "So, Doc, I know this is a bit random, but how long have you known Eris?"

"Well, we've known each other for a while, ever since I met our benefactor who was able to fund the prosthesis project. We didn't start being romantic until some days before I created my first limb."

"And has she always looked like Lily?" Sebastian asked.

"She actually looked a lot different than she does now. She actually had gorgeous long locks of purple hair and her body shape seemed bit curvie. Maybe her clothing gave off that look. If I had to be honest, I actually prefer the way she looked before. I hope that doesn't sound shallow of me."

Sebastian and Lilliana looked at each other and they knew exactly what the other was thinking. "I have to say, it's hard to believe that she happened to look exactly like me before I arrived here when you described her so differently."

"That's the strangest thing of all: she only changed her look a couple of days before you arrived!"

"Only a couple of days?"

"Yes. Her powers are quite incredible, aren't they?"

"Quite," Sebastian said. He looked at Lilliana and saw her pondering long and hard about this. She couldn't imagine why Eris took her form to feed herself. If she was after Sebastian, Eris wouldn't have taken that appearance before meeting them. She would have done it after when she knew Lilliana and Sebastian were there. She clearly wasn't after Doc anymore because she wouldn't have changed her appearance to one that he didn't like as much. Plus, it didn't seem like Eris expected her to arrive as much as she tried to pull off that she had psychic powers. She really didn't, but could tell everything about someone just by looking in their eyes. So, why did she take on her form . . .?

She gasped. "William—Er, I mean, Suit! I was supposed to talk to him about something important. I need to get back to him! Black, please take care of Smile while I'm gone. I promise I'll return when I'm done," she said as she left the tent, not waiting for him to reply.

She ran until she reached the residence tent, but despite the initial rush, she decided to take her time to his tent so she could prep herself in case he made her angry. She couldn't believe how easily angered she had been recently. It was pass her control and no matter how much she fought back, it always won over. She was never like this in the past, even at her most feral, and she wondered what was wrong.

However, when she got close to the tent, she could hear male and female moaning and rolled her eyes. "It was about time I heard that," she said, but as she got closer to Will's tent, the moaning seemed to get louder, especially the male. She was suspicious of the source and shook her head. "No, there's no way! He would never do something like . . . ," she said as she reached his tent, but the noise was at its peak. She feared looking in, but hoped it was just two performers fucking in his tent while he was away. She looked through the slit of the tent, but what she saw shocked her to her core. She looked away and shook her head violently. "I must be delusional! There's no way I'm seeing this correctly!"

However, that thought escaped her as he heard a voice say with a breathy moan, "Lilliana." She felt her heart skip a beat and knew she wasn't imagining this. This was real. She looked back inside, but still found it very hard to believe.

* * *

After the trio left the tent, William looked through Lilliana's file once more so he could give her the right information. He planned on giving her the file as well, but the notes were basic compared to the speech he had planned. Plus, she doesn't know the exact location of this particular mission yet and had to handle this delicately in case she would react rashly. The last thing he wanted to do was deal with an emotional Lilliana. He wanted to ask about her sudden surge of emotions and see if he can get an explanation, but he didn't know if now was a good time.

After a while, she returned, looking a bit tired from the conversation she had outside. "So, what's this mission you so desperately wanted me to know about?"

"Well, like I said earlier, Grell Sutcliff will be released tomorrow night and assigned this very mission. You're job is to babysit him and make sure he completes this collection without a hitch."

"And they chose me because?"

"You're strong enough to subdue him if he go astray. If he fails this, he will return to rehabilitation and the process will repeat."

"As much as I don't like him, I don't want to keep being the babysitter for every attempt," she said as she sat next to him on the bed. "So, where is this soul collection at?"

"Well, interestingly enough, it is actually at your other place of employment."

"The Phantomhive manor? I'm honestly not surprised, but how many souls are we collecting?"

"A total of five. It shouldn't be too difficult, especially since you reap a lot more than that on a regular basis," he said as he handed her the file. "Just to eliminate bias, do any of these souls belong to the people you work with?"

She looked through the list quickly and said, "No."

"Good, then there should be no problem collecting them."

"Well, even if they were, Grell would be there to reap them for me," she said as she placed the file on the bed next to her. However, she looked a bit embarrassed as she looked at William in the eye, which surprised him. "C-Can I ask you something, Will?"

"Of course," he said, wondering what she could possibly ask with a face like that. What did she have to be embarrassed about?

"Um . . . so . . . earlier today . . . did you spy on me and Sebastian . . . ," she said sheepishly, not wanting to complete her sentence.

William blushed as well, if not more so than her. "What are you—,"

"I swore I saw you watching me and Sebastian . . . fucking . . . in my tent," she finally said. "Am I wrong?"

"W-W-Well, I—," he kept stammering, not wanting to admit the full truth and rightfully so. Who would ever want to admit they watched two people have sex unless they were perverts and he surely wasn't.

"Just tell me the truth, William. Please, I need to hear it from you," she begged.

He was beyond flustered, but finally admitted, "Y-Yes, I did, accidentally. I was meaning to speak with you about the mission, but you were . . . busy."

She looked scared as she said in a panic, "And you're going to report this to the Head Reapers, aren't you? They're going to put me in rehabilitation for sure! I'm so fucked!"

"N-No, I don't plan on reporting this," he said in a fast tone as he tried to calm her down.

She looked up at him and asked, "What?"

"I said I'm not going to report it. They need you and it wouldn't be smart to give them a reason to doubt you this close to the mission date," he explained, but it was clear he was hiding more than that.

"Seriously? Thank you!" she said as she hugged him. He was so shocked by this, but let her hug him. It was clear she needed it. However, he was shocked when she kissed his cheek as well. He blushed more and pulled away. "Too far?"

"Too far for you, I thought," he said.

"I'm sorry. I just haven't been able to control myself lately." As she said this, her stomach began to growl. "Shit, I must be hungry, but the mess tent is closed for the night."

"I still have the chocolates you gave me earlier, if that's enough for you," William said as he grabbed the bag of chocolates that was on his dresser. He grabbed two pieces: one for her and one for him.

"Well, it's better than nothing," she said as he gave her a piece. They both ate their piece, admiring the smooth taste that could put anyone under a spell. "Delicious."

"Indeed," he said as he went to grab another piece, but felt her hand entwined with his free. He looked at her and noticed her blushing cheeks were back.

"Will, I have to confess something to you or else I won't be able to," she said before taking a deep breath. "I'm kind of . . . happy you caught us." William looked at her with shocked eyes as she proceeded, "When Sebastian and I are intimate, I have to imagine that it's someone else touching me and making me beg. That's why I never call him by name, as you noticed. If I did, I wouldn't be saying his name. I would be calling . . . yours."

"Excuse me?!" he practically yelled, nearly choking on his own saliva.

"I have kept my emotions hidden for a long time, but ever since we shared our first kiss, I had some feeling for you. I had to keep them hidden so long since I had to learn the Reaper way of not letting emotions hinder our work, but I can't hold them back anymore. I want to be with you, William T. Spears!"

"I-I don't know what to say," he said, but she kissed him, managing to push him onto the bed so she was on top. She even straddled him so she could feel something grow below her. However, he pushed her back as he said, "Ms. Kiliamo! I don't think you should be—,"

"Please, just let me have this. I know deep down, you haven't eradicated your feelings for me. I bet when you saw us fucking, you wanted to desperately take Sebastian's place. You were jealous how expertly he touched my body and had me wanting more. Admit it, Will!"

"Lilliana . . . ,"

"Admit it!" He was quiet, unable to figure out the right words to say. She sighed and grabbed the lace that held her top together and loosened it. He looked away as he saw the garment slip off of her and she threw it on the floor close by. "William, please look at me."

"I don't think that's appropriate," he said, still looking away, but she took his hand and placed it on her exposed breast. He tried desperately to pull it back, even finally looking at her just to confirm, but she didn't let him go. He could even see the other demonic mark scarred into her chest, but didn't want to mention it, especially now.

"Please, Will. Just for tonight. Let me have this. I've wanted this for so long," she said as she placed his other hand on her other breast. "I always imagined you taking a dominant role and making me call you my master. With the promise of pleasure, I would do anything you asked and more." She grinded her hips against his and sure enough, she got the reaction she wanted. "I can't say you feel the exact same way, but those dirty thoughts toward me were always there."

"Ms. Kiliamo, I-I—," he tried to say, but he felt her hand rub against his bulge just like last time. Luckily, they had privacy so no one would see them.

"This hard cock right here proves you want this. Just the thought of it inside me is making me so wet," she said as she used her free hand to rub herself, making her moan softly. He could feel her nipples getting hard in his hands and kept blushing more.

"Lilliana, you don't know what you're doing—,"

"I know _exactly_ what I'm doing. I want you and you want me. What's wrong with that?"

"A lot of things, actually."

"Don't be like that, Will. I'm allowing you to play with my body like you've always wanted," she said as she guided one of his hands to her lower back, where her mark was. She moaned louder than she did with Sebastian initially, now that she fully gave herself to him. "K-Keep rubbing there. It's a very sensitive spot for me."

William was truly at a loss for words. He never expected in a millennium that he would be doing this with her and she would be so desperate for him. It was actually quite fascinating, to be honest, and something in him was telling him to let go of his doubts and just ravish her. He didn't know what it was, but the urge to fuck her was getting stronger and stronger the more she moaned and begged for him. With her rubbing his cock through his pants and his hand on her tit, he finally gave in to the carnal instincts inside him and enjoyed the opportunity provided for him. He used his thumb to circle around her erect nipple while his other hand put more pressure to the mark. He watched her face distort as she moaned and accepted every ounce of pleasure given to her. He even pinched her nipple lightly, watching her arch her back a bit and throw her head back as she moaned a bit louder, but not as loudly as she did with Sebastian. He was determined to make her moan louder than he did and would do whatever it takes to make her scream his name.

He began suckling the free nipple while continuing to pinch and massage. She seemed to read his mind since he began moaning louder, slowly reaching the point he wanted. He twirled his tongue around her skin and even biting ever so lightly to get that high pitch moan he wanted to hear. Hearing her like this, wanting only him, made him want to do all these naughty things to her, but he knew he had to be patient before getting to the main attraction. "W-Will, please . . . can I taste you?"

"Y-Yes," he said as he sat up on the bed, noticing fully just how hard he was for her. Even her gentlest touch was enough to make him moan, which she took full advantage of. She unzipped his pants and pulled out his cock, which stood up in attention for her. "Wow, I didn't think it was this big."

"I assume that you've dealt with bigger," he said before she wrapped her hand around it and started stroking, making him moan.

"Actually, no. He's very skilled, don't get me wrong, but he isn't . . . gifted. With you, I know we'll have a lot of fun," she said before kissing the tip, making him throw his head back a bit before he could feel her tongue wrap around it. "Enjoying yourself?" she asked before wrapping her lips around him and slowly moving her head up and down, making sure to keep eye contact with him.

In between, he said, "Yes. Keep going." She did as told and bobbed her head back and forth, watching him lose his calm and collected composure. Eventually, she tried to suck more of him so the tip could reach the back of her throat, but she didn't gag. He was impressed she could do this, but figured she had enough practice.

She pulled back and stroked him with her hand as she said, "Don't worry about not having any experience in this. I'll take care of you, but I do want you to learn for next time."

"N-Next time?"

She nodded. "I want you to know that I'm yours for tonight and whenever you see fit in the future. You can claim me whenever and however many times you want." She continued giving him a blowjob and bobbed her head faster than before, desperate to make him cum, which shouldn't be long since this was his first time. He was moaning loudly now, loud enough for anyone outside to hear him, but he didn't care: he was getting exactly what he wanted. He even gripped her head with one hand and the bed sheets with his other, feeling himself about to climax.

"Lilliana, I'm going to—," he said in between moans.

She pulled back quickly as she begged, "Please let me have it, William. I want every drop!"

She returned to sucking him off. Soon, he released his seed inside her mouth as he moaned, "Lilliana." She made sure to keep her lips around him as she swallowed every last drop he released in her. William took a few deep breaths, feeling relieved of the tension building up inside him, but this wasn't the end.

Lilliana grabbed for the bag of chocolates and fed one to him. "Sweets always taste better after cumming hard."

"What the fuck is going on?!" a similar voice said from inside the tent. The two looked toward the source and found the real Lilliana looking at them with red in her eyes.

"Wait, what?!" William asked in utter shock as he got dressed and pushed the topless Lilliana off of him.

"Well, this is awkward," she said with a French accent. "Guess we can't continue our fun."

"Give up the act, Eris! You can't pretend anymore. I know what you truly are." Lilliana said, having a very hard time controlling her rage.

Eris chuckled. "Well, it was about time that Sebastian told you about me," she said as her appearance started to change. Her black hair turned purple and her body shape became curvier. Even her breast size became larger, but they conveniently ignored that. Finally, her left eye turned purple, but the right remained green until she looked at Lilliana, which then turned it red. "Allow me to introduce myself truly. Je m'appelle Eris Melania and I am a succubus."

"A what?!" William yelled, getting up from bed, but his legs felt a bit weak.

"Be careful, dearie. You came pretty hard for me," she teased before looking at Lilliana, who was ready to rip her throat out. "Aw, why such an angry face? You should feel flattered that he only wanted to cum for you. He kept saying your name over and over again—,"

"Espèce de salope," Lilliana said, making sure Eris understood she was serious.

"Huh, I haven't been cussed out in my native tongue in a long time."

"It all makes sense now. Doc said you changed your appearance only recently, probably the same time that William joined the circus. Knowing how hungry succubus can be, you wanted your fill and a Grim Reaper can fill you better than any human could. I'm shocked you managed to keep that right eye color consistent despite constantly interacting with people."

"Oui, it was hard. With just a quick look into someone's eyes, I can see that person's deepest and darkest desires along with their memories and feelings. I used that to my advantage and became the circus fortune teller. It was so easy for me to convince people of my 'ability'."

"But you've been part of the troupe for a while, not just when William and we joined. Why?"

"Would you believe me if I said it was out of love for that human?" Eris said with a smirk before grabbing her top from the floor. "I'm sad to say that I can't reveal my reasoning to you or else that would be in violation of my contract. Besides, I've had my fill for the night."

However, Lilliana wasn't ready to let her go and asked, "You better tell me something or else I'm going to rip you to pieces!"

Eris giggled. "Sounding like a true female demon. I told you, I can't say much else, but I'll tell you this," she said as she placed her finger on Lilliana's chest, or really, the middle of the pentagram on it. "Sometimes it's the people we least suspect that are behind the most heinous deeds." She then walked passed Lilliana, barely putting her top on, but Lilliana rushed after her. Her rage was set to murder this whore who dared to make a joke out of her and William. However, when she looked outside the tent, Eris seemed to have disappeared. She looked everywhere for her, but couldn't find her anywhere. William followed behind her with the file in hand, trying to catch her attention, but she was so blinded by her rage to notice him. Eventually, he had to use his Death Scythe to strike her, hoping she would block and she did.

"Ms. Kiliamo, stop this foolishness! You're not going to find her," he said before retracting his Death Scythe.

"She better hope I don't find her! She's a dead woman!" she yelled, not paying any attention to the volume of her voice and who could hear.

"Still, there is something else you need to attend to," he said as he handed her the file for her to look over. She took it forcefully, but not looking inside. "Tomorrow night. Don't forget."

She looked at him with those red eyes that frightened him, now more than ever and he wasn't afraid to show it. After what just happened, how could he explain? He didn't know how to explain it to himself. "She said she was contracted to someone, meaning if I kill her, the soul would be free for collection. Your little mistake is going to cost us a soul."

"Now that we know who she is, she isn't going to keep her same appearance. As far as we know, she will disguise herself as a performer and we are not going to go on a witch hunt to figure out which one she is."

She let out a yell before hitting a wooden crate, shattering it to pieces and splinters flying everywhere. William made sure to stay back before he got hit with anything, but she wasn't so lucky. Her hand was covered in them as blood dripped down lightly and her arm, legs, and torso got hit as well. However, despite being painful for humans, she didn't express any pain. "I need to get away from this place before I kill someone. If Sebastian is looking for me, tell him you sent me somewhere to collect souls," she said before leaving his side. "Oh, and please don't mention what happened to anyone. I promise to do the same."

* * *

Sebastian walked out of the infirmary tent on a mission to find the insignia from the signet ring. Now that they had enough criteria and since his memory of the seal was vivid, all he had to do was find it in the register and arrive back in the morning to retrieve his young master. Shouldn't be too much of a problem. However, since William wouldn't allow him to wander around or even leave the area without his master at his side, he had to rely on Lilliana to do the work. Luckily, she saw the ring in the photo, but he needed to tell her where to go. He set out to find her, thinking she was still talking about the mission he still didn't know anything about. She always told him about her missions since she found no harm in it, but even she was left in the dark about this. He wondered what it could be.

However, in the corner of his eye, he saw a Death Scythe aimed right for him, ready for the kill. He moved out of the way in time, but it kept trying to strike him and he continuously dodged the attack. "You're interfering again? Well, this won't do at all," Sebastian said, now his own anger boiling. He had to keep a calm composure in front of Lilliana, but he had to admit that dealing with William on a regular basis was far pass annoying.

"And where do you think you're going? You aren't to be wandering about without your master or even Lilliana," William said, pushing back his glasses. It was clear he was upset, but for more reasons than Sebastian could ever realize.

"I'm afraid my master is confined to his bed, so it falls to me to run his errand. I would happily have Ms. Kiliamo go out for me to avoid troubling you-,"

"I'm afraid that won't possible. I had to send her on a collection mission. I received word from Upper Management that we are falling behind and her duties as a Reapers come before anything else," William lied. Sebastian looked disappointed to hear that. He heavily relied on her to venture outside the circus due to this restriction, but with her gone, it would be very difficult to gather the information he needed in time. "You must return to the tent immediately. I cannot allow you to move independent of your master." He tried to strike Sebastian again, more determined than ever to land a hit on him, but he avoided each attack effortlessly. However, Sebastian decided to do a risky move and catch the Death Scythe with his hand, blade in his bloody hand.

"I am sorry for the inconvenience, but I do have my duties as a butler to consider. I would assume that you would much prefer to not make a scene, so I propose that we make another deal. You allow me one hour free from your interference and in return, I shall never eat a soul in your district ever again. You can have Lilliana track me, even after my contract is fulfilled, and even task her with disposing of me if I ever foolishly break the deal. One hour is all I ask."

"No, that won't do. Demons seduce their prey into darkness with their sweet words and deceitful actions. Your kind is so good at it that it's become a cliché," William said as he swung his Death Scythe to remove any blood on it. There was certain bitterness to his words that Sebastian did catch, but couldn't pinpoint his reasoning.

"I was afraid that would be your decision. Oh well, it is no matter. I shall simply explore other means of getting what I need," Sebastian said as he removed his bloody glove.

William sighed. "Like a true demon, finding loopholes in your favor at the cost of others. How cruel." He turned around and started walking back to the tent, wanting to end this conversation. He was confident that Sebastian would keep his word, but still had his doubts. Besides, he didn't have the energy to deal with another demon. He had to clear his head of tonight's events.

Sebastian was at a bind; if he can't leave the grounds, how was he supposed to figure out the name connected to the seal? Also, why didn't Lilliana tell him about her mission before leaving? She promised to return and she would do anything to delay her work. He assumed that it was a very last-minute decision that could not be delayed. He hoped she would return soon, but knew he had to do this task alone in case it took all night. Luckily for him, he heard Joker and Beast conversing somewhere nearby and decided it would be best to listen. After some time, she was left in tears and vulnerable, an opportunity he knew to take advantage of.

* * *

 ** _Who is contracted with Eris? Where did Lilliana go to clear her head? Will Sebastian be able to get the information he needs? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	7. Careful Tending of Negative Emotions

Lilliana was walking toward the townhouse, making sure to take her time. As much as she wanted to be away from the circus as soon as possible, she didn't feel like interacting with anyone, especially those jovial Indians. Knowing them, they would ask her why the three of them were gone for two days and then she would have to explain as much as she could without giving them the full truth. She hoped Sebastian and Ciel would return soon, especially since it seemed they had enough information to stop snooping around the circus, but since Ciel was sick, she didn't know if Doc would allow them to them to leave so easily. The sun was barely rising when she returned, but she hoped that the two occupants would still be sleeping. She needed some more time to clear her head about . . . things with William. There was no way she could have imagined everything. He was . . . he was about to . . . if she didn't stop him . . .

Knowing that Eris was a succubus cleared the air for them. Neither of them was crazy, thankfully, but the discovery was quite a shock for multiple reasons. She wondered how far Eris pushed her agenda on him before last night so he would be in the mood to sleep with her. She thought nothing would seduce him, but it was clear that she was very wrong. Apparently being a submissive version of her was enough. She blushed at the thought, but felt her anger building. She couldn't explain why she was so angry. She wasn't jealous of Eris, but she was angry she took her image. This whole time, she thought that if Eris took her image, she would go after Sebastian, but it wouldn't make sense since demons don't fill each other up like humans do. It was like a light snack compared to a meal and a Grim Reaper was an all-you-can-eat buffet. She would never imagine that she was going after William . . . and succeed, for the most part. She knew how succubus behaved and what their powers can do, but nothing could prepare her for what she witnessed. It was bad enough that Eris seduced William, which would have been enough blackmail to make him go easy on her, but she took her form. All this time, did he . . .

"There you are, Lilliana," a familiar low voice said followed by a higher-pitched cough. Lilliana returned to reality as she turned around to see Sebastian holding Ciel in his arms. He looked a lot better than he did yesterday, but still looked weak. "I'm surprised to see you here. Weren't you supposed to return after you spoke with your superior?"

Shit. She forgot about that completely. "R-Right. I was assigned to a mission last minute, different from the one I mentioned earlier. I had no choice in the matter," she lied.

"I understand. He told me the same thing when I tried to run an errand. He refused to let his guard down, so I had to improvise. Fortunately, we have the information we need to move on with our mission," Sebastian said. She released a subtle sigh of relief. At least William did the one thing she asked him to do. Though, she understood completely why his guard was up. "We do need to have a little chat together to talk about things."

"Of course," she said as the three of them finally reached the townhouse. Lilliana opened the door for them, but just as she predicted, Soma and Agni were awake and vigilant.

"Ciel! Where have you been? You left for two whole days without even bothering to tell anybody! If you were gone for a little while longer, I was going to call the police!" Soma said with anger that a strict parent would have, which was ironic coming from a carefree teenager.

"It's very good to see you," Agni said with a smile.

"It's none of your business," Ciel said before coughing.

"What is wrong? You look as pale as a ghost-," Soma observed.

"It's nothing, I'm fine. Leave me be," Ciel said as the two servants walked in and headed upstairs.

"It sounds serious! I think you're lying. You've obviously caught a very bad cold. Do you have a fever, too?" Soma said as he followed them up the stairs with Agni by his side.

"No, I don't have a fever."

"You're lying again!"

"No I'm not!" Ciel cried out as the two servants reached his room and politely closed the door on Soma's face so he wouldn't pursue them any further. Sebastian placed their young master on the bed so he could rest a bit more while Lilliana prepared hot water, a bowl, and a towel.

"I'm surprised, my young lord. You're a bigger keeper of secrets and lies than I'd thought. To think you've been chronically ill since infancy and I had no idea. That is quite the secret to keep," Sebastian said.

"You could have asked me. I know everything about his life," Lilliana said. They turned to her and she continued, "What? I checked his Cinematic Record before working with him. I got to know a few things about my employer before working with him."

"And yet you were still as concerned as I was when he had an asthma attack," Sebastian countered.

"Well, he hasn't had an attack in a while, so I thought he was practically cured. Besides, your uncertainty is what frightened me the most."

"I'm curious as to why the young lord didn't tell us."

"Neither of you asked, so I didn't tell. It's as simple as that. And I've grown out of it, anyhow," Ciel explained.

"Still, there's no harm in being cautious, is there? We'll acquaint ourselves with the latest medics, texts on asthma, just so this doesn't happen again," Lilliana said as she put the towel in the bowl of hot water and ringed the excess water out. "We don't want you dying on us."

"A proper butler is prepared for any situation that arises," Sebastian said before he knelt down to help his master undress.

"If we're done talking about my health, perhaps you can report to me what you learned from your research this morning," Ciel said.

"There is a coat of arms that matched the seal. It belongs to the Baron Kelvin," he reported as he started using the warm cloth to wash Ciel's skin.

"Kelvin?"

"Do you know him?" Lilliana asked.

"Well, we certainly don't have a close, personal acquaintance, as I don't fancy 'philanthropists'. But I think we may have been introduced before at a party the previous earl took me to. Regardless, his name is the only thing we really require." Once Sebastian was finished washing, he proceeded to dress him in his nobleman outfit, something Ciel never thought he would miss desperately. Once he was fully dressed, Ciel continued, "We're going out."

"Yes, my lord," the two said in unison as Sebastian opened the door for them to leave, but were surprised to see Agni blocking the door, determined to not let them leave.

"Not so fast, Ciel. Do not think you will escape it so easily. This townhouse is under my supervision," Soma said from behind him. Ciel showed utter annoyance, really not wanting to deal with this, especially right now. "Whatever you say, I know you've caught a nasty cold. As viceroy of this estate and your dear friend, I cannot allow you to venture out in your current condition."

"Don't be daft! Since when are we 'dear friends'?" Ciel said as he tried to leave the room.

"Agni, do not let Ciel pass you!"

"Jo ajña," Agni said.

"Now see here, you bloody simpletons: I have important work to do! I haven't got the time to play these infantile games!" Ciel said with a raised voice, but proceeded to cough. "Now step aside!"

"A sick person's only job is to stay in bed and be looked after," Soma lectured.

"I have a stronger constitution than you! I can manage on my—," Ciel said before coughing again. At this point, Lilliana found it amusing how much he wanted to prove he was all right while failing miserably.

"Lord Phantomhive," Agni said as he ran to the sick lord. "I beg you, please return to bed. Your symptoms suggest that you suffer from asthma. You cannot possibly be well in this state!"

"Sebastian, Lilliana, get these two out of my way!" Ciel yelled, finally letting his frustration show.

"Very good, my lord," they said in unison as they proceeded to go through with the order.

"You two should hang your heads in shame," Agni said, making the two servants confused. "You call yourself Lord Phantomhive's loyal servants? I speak as a fellow khansama, and more, as your friend and one who respects you both. The health of our master's is our first concern! Don't you think you are bound by duty to stop Lord Phantomhive for the sake of his health even if doing so goes against his orders?"

"But he'll be fine. The symptoms are dying down-," Lilliana explained.

"He is still sick! We ensure our master's remain in good spirits and good health, no matter what we have to do. As you know, that is the servant aesthetic!" The two were in shock. It was rare that they were scolded for what they were doing regarding their jobs. So, this is how the other three servants felt.

After a moment of silence, Sebastian said, "I've long considered my role to be the fulfillment of my young lord's wishes, but you make an excellent point. Perhaps there is something to your way of thinking after all."

"Why are you agreeing with them? Don't let him turn you! My orders are—," Ciel yelled.

"Now that that's sorted, let's get you to bed," Soma said as he dragged Ciel back to bed, but he strongly protested. "Nursed to health by a crown prince? You should be flattered, Ciel. Agni, make some porridge and some herbs."

"Yes, at once," Agni said with a bow.

"No, you can't just—," Ciel protested.

"Ciel's khansama, bring fresh new clothes and ice packs."

"Yes, of course," Sebastian said with a bow.

"Ciel's maid, make sure that he doesn't move from this bed."

"Certainly," she said as they finally guided him to bed.

"Is anyone listening to me?!"

* * *

After a lengthy two days of caring for the young master, everyone was exhausted. Ciel had been sleeping practically all the second day, but that was to be expected, especially when he had little rest at the circus. He must be very relaxed in a warm bed and taken care of like a true nobleman. His complexion and breathing seemed to be a lot better, which relieved everyone. Sebastian got Ciel's clothes ready for when he woke up while Lilliana cleaned up anything that needed it. Soma could barely keep his eyes open and Agni carried his prince on his back. Sebastian and Lilliana left the room to not disturb Ciel's slumber, but as they walked down the hallway, they heard Agni say, "Sebastian, Lilliana, may I have a moment?" When they acknowledged his request, he continued, "I wanted to apologize for yesterday, for getting carried away and raising my voice to you."

"Nonsense. I'm glad you did. I found it to be very illuminating," Sebastian said with a genuine smile.

"But I would never presume to give either of you advice. I have always believed you to be servants without equal. It is _I_ who should be learning his lessons from you."

"Except you should learn to be nicer," Soma said in a low voice, trying to imitate Agni. Lilliana chuckled a bit while Sebastian gave a slightly confused look.

"You're Highness, I'm sorry. I thought you were asleep after you stayed up all night tending to the Earl."

"I _am_ asleep. You're the one who's talking now. Go on. Move your lips. He's too scary to talk to," Soma said in his regular voice that was clearly tired. Agni sighed, but did as he was told. He moved his lips like a puppet as Soma said in the low voice, "You're not as nice to your master as I am. You should be a kinder khansama. At least Lilliana tries, but she too could learn some lessons."

Lilliana couldn't help, but let out a little laugh that she tried to suppress. Sebastian looked a bit sad as he said, "I'm not kind enough. Is that so?"

"Yes. Ciel is still only a boy. He should get to lie about all day being spoiled by his parents when he falls ill. Except . . . he doesn't have parents." Soma started to crawl down from Agni's back before continuing in his own voice, "Well, I didn't exactly have my parents around either, so I know what it's like. However, I had Mina and an elderly servant to look after me and spoil me." However, he gained the strength to look at Sebastian directly and no longer be hidden by a shield in the form of Agni. "So you should stop being such a cold khansama and coddle Ciel! Be nice! Is that so hard?!" When he finished, he immediately ran away so he wouldn't be able to feel Sebastian's wrath. Still, he wasn't done lecturing the butler as he said from around the corner, "Don't forget what I said!"

"My prince! You are possessed of a beautiful soul," Agni said with praise and tears in his eyes. The two servants could only shake their heads as they watched him follow his master to their rooms.

"Well, that was entertaining," she said as the two of them started heading to their shared room.

"For you, maybe. Should I take their advice and spoil our young master?" Sebastian asked.

"You can try, but I doubt he'll like it. He hasn't been treated like a child for years, so he might not know how to react. Though, I'm curious what a demon like you would do."

"I would assume he would find it unsettling."

"I wouldn't blame him," she said with a smile, but a telephone ring caught their attention.

"I'll go get it. Wait for me in the room," Sebastian said as he quickly walked to the phone. Lilliana sighed a bit, but walked to their room and closed the door. It was almost time for her to leave and meet with Grell for their mission and she did not look forward to it at all. Still, she had to do it, or else she would feel the wrath of William . . . Not the best time to be thinking of him. She took a deep breath before letting her hair down from the bun and taking off her maid dress. She made sure to be quick before Sebastian came back, fearing he would want to fool around now that they had the privacy, and she was nowhere near in the mood to do so. She started putting on her Reaper uniform and checked herself in the mirror as she buttoned up her shirt. She got a quick look at the Branding Mark on chest and was reminded of what Eris said.

"What did she mean by that? 'The people we least suspect' . . . ," Soon, she could hear Sebastian's footsteps on the other side of the door and swiftly finished dressing before he opened the door. He looked a bit disappointed to see her fully dressed, but remembered she had work to do in a couple of hours.

"I should have expected that outfit," he said before closing the door behind him.

"Well it's either this or the dress and you know which one I prefer," she said. She looked up at him and continued, "And before you say it: no, I don't enjoy wearing that costume."

"Fair enough," he said as he walked up to her. "But I did want to talk to you about something that you might find interesting. Now that we know that Eris is a succubus, that helps explain some things about the circus and who is behind it."

"Yeah," she said in a bitter tone.

"I have made some assumptions based on what we've learned. Eris must be contracted with a human, though it is not entirely clear who. Since we know that Doc and Eris met each other through our target, it is plausible that she is contracted to either of them if not both."

"Demons of Lust are tricky beings. They rarely form contracts with humans since their main source of nourishment is through sexual energy released during intercourse. Souls _can_ fill them up more, but some humans will prevent them from feeding on other humans, meaning that it would practically starve them if the contract isn't fulfilled quickly or they don't have sex often."

"Then she must be starving unless she is allowed to feed on others. It is more likely she's contracted with Doc if that's the case, but it's quite possible our target allowed her to feed off of Doc for some reason. I cannot find an end goal for the contract, but I guess we'll uncover it once the mission is over."

"Well, you two can report back to me what you learn while I'm gone," she said as she sat on the bed.

"Indeed. Also, there was another thing I wanted to discuss with you. I believe I have found a reason for your peaked anger lately."

"What, really? What is it?" she asked with open ears.

"Did you eat something that Eris offered you?" he inquired.

"She did offer me some suspicious chocolates and they tasted, in lack of a better term, sinful."

"And you ate them despite your suspicions?"

"Well how was I supposed to know they were laced with something? Drugs don't work on Reapers like they do with humans and I'm a lover of chocolate. Give me a break," she said with crossed arms.

"Good to know," he mumbled under his breath before continuing, "However, there is something that could work on all beings, even demons. Sinful Spices."

"Sinful Spices? What are those?"

Sebastian raised an eyebrow. "I'm surprised you out of all people don't know about it."

"I can't possibly know everything regarding demons. I just learned the things that were beneficial for me, like the effects of Reaper blood and advanced combat techniques."

"That would make sense. After all, Sinful Spices are rare even for demons that produce them. Only high level demons can obtain them. There are seven spices altogether, each representing the seven deadly sins. Whenever they are consumed, they make the consumer more susceptible of the respected sin. For example, if you ate the Gluttonous Spice, you would eat and eat without feeling satisfied."

"So what does that mean for me?"

"Judging by your inability to control your anger, I would assume the chocolates you ate had the Wrathful Spice mixed in them."

Lilliana was shocked by what she learned, but took a deep breath and released a heavy sigh. "So all this time, I was under the control by a stupid spice. That makes sense, but is there a way to get rid of it? I don't want to accidentally kill William the next time he makes me angry."

"You might have to," Sebastian said nonchalantly, but caught her attention. "In order to release a spice's control, you would have to exhaust your body of it. For you, you would have to release your anger fully, usually through combat."

"Huh, well if I ever get mad, I could always fight you. You would make a good sparring partner," she said before remembering something. She wasn't the only one who ate chocolate from Eris. She saw her feed one to William. Could it be . . . "What about a Lustful Spice? Knowing Eris, she would have those on hand if she has Wrathful Spice on her."

"That would usually be the case. It would heighten one's lust for someone once it's stimulated and you can imagine what the release is."

"Yeah, probably masturbation and the like."

He chuckled a bit. "You could try masturbation, but it would be a very weak release unless you planned to do it all day."

"Shit, that sucks if you can't get someone to fuck you," she said in her usual tone, but was hiding her complex feelings about William and Eris. This helped explain some things, but not everything. If she wanted the full story, she would have to talk with William, which she dreaded, but knew it had to be done if they were going to go back to their usual relationship.

"Now, we should probably return to the young lord in case he wakes up. There is something we need to tell him. Besides, I believe we should put Prince Soma's advice to the test," Sebastian said with an innocent smile. She smiled too. This was going to be fun.

* * *

After a few hours, Ciel finally began waking up from his long sleep, noticing the other two servants were cleaning up around him and had a cart of food ready for him. However, he was not expecting the room to be so dimly lit. The last time he was awake, it was definitely daytime, so how long was he asleep? "It's dark in here," he said in an adorable sleepy tone, but nearly jumped out of bed as he asked, "What time is it?"

"It's just after seven in the evening, my lord. You slept soundly," Sebastian said as he looked at his pocket watch and then put it back.

"That late? Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"We felt it was keeping to our duties as your servants to prioritize your health, so we let you sleep," Lilliana said before wrapping a small blanket around his shoulders. "Besides, you looked adorable when you sleep." Ciel glared at her, but she only smiled.

Sebastian walked to the cart of food as he said, "For tonight's dinner, we have a creamy three-mushroom risotto and a pork and wine pot-au-feu. And for pudding, we have a delicately spiced of warm apple compote with yogurt." Ciel looked at the food; even when they didn't have a full kitchen like the manor, Sebastian never failed at serving high-quality food for him. Surely Lilliana helped get any ingredients they needed, but knowing the Indians, they always had something tantalizing in the kitchen. "Now, if you will, say 'ah'," Sebastian said as he tried to feed Ciel like a young child, who was utterly shocked by this sudden fatherly behavior.

"Wait! Just what the devil are you playing at?!" Ciel yelled.

"Oh, is it too hot? How very thoughtless of us. I'll cool it," Lilliana asked as she started to cool down his food by blowing air, but that only sickened him more.

"Goodness me, look at you looking like a spoilt child," Sebastian commented.

"And you two are being positively revolting. I order you to stop immediately!" Ciel said forcefully.

"We were only doing as Prince Soma advised. He told me that sick children should be lavished with kindness. You don't care for it, my lord?"

"I can do without that kindness. It makes my skin crawl."

"Well, we certainly can't have that. So sorry, it shall not happen again," Sebastian said with a bow.

"So much for that idea," Lilliana said with a playful shrug. They proceeded to have dinner as usual and Sebastian helped Ciel dress while she rolled the cart away to the kitchen and cleaned the dishes.

"By the way, Tanaka called around 4 o'clock and I took a message. He says Lady Elizabeth is visiting the manor."

"What? Why didn't you tell me earlier?" Ciel asked.

"We didn't want to interrupt your meal," Sebastian said before continuing, "It appears that her intention is to remain there until you return and Tanaka asked if that might occur sooner rather than later,"

"Good grief, what a mess. You've been able to locate Kelvin's estate, correct?" Ciel asked as he put on a jacket.

"Yes. I had time while you were convalescing. The Baron Kelvin's manor is roughly a day's travel from London, my lord."

"You could get us there in under an hour, could you not?"

"If you ordered it."

"We're needed back at home. Let's get this over with."

"Quite, but I must inform you that Lilliana will not be accompanying us."

"Pardon?"

"Unfortunately, since she had been exempt for her work during our time at the circus, she has to make it up with a new mission. She never disclosed any details, but it is something she cannot ignore."

"Why am I not surprised. Those Reapers always seem to have perfect timing, don't they?"

"Right you are, my lord," Lilliana said seemingly out of nowhere as she closed the door to their room, making Ciel jump a bit. She chuckled before her face turned somber. "I'm sorry for being secretive about the mission, but I have to be or else it's my ass on the line. I hope you can understand. However, once I'm done, I'll stop by the manor to check up on Lady Elizabeth and the other servants. Hopefully she hasn't killed them with adorable . . . things." Ciel found this all suspicious, especially when she mentioned going back to the manor afterwards and not heading back to them. Did she expect them to return immediately once they were done with their work or is the mission going to last that long? He couldn't just order her to tell him what the mission was since she has no obligation to tell him the truth, unlike Sebastian. Hell, Ciel didn't even know she was a Grim Reaper until the Jack the Ripper case.

"Then I need you to keep this in mind: remember why I hired you," Ciel said.

"Of course, my lord," she said with a small smile and bow.

* * *

"Well, this is pretty boring," Katia said from the rooftop of Baron Kelvin's manor. Her assignment was to analyze the demon situation with the two contracted souls and determine if they can be saved, meaning if she could kill the demons who have a grip on these souls. She never doubted her strength against multiple demons, but that doesn't mean that it wouldn't be a close match. When she has little information about said demons, she cannot coordinate an attack plan against them. Plus, she had to figure out how to arrive on the scene without causing too much trouble. Any retaliation could be bad for her, but it was inevitable at this point.

William was supposed to do undercover work at this circus to find out who the demons were and hopefully provide some useful information to help her. She did receive something, but not as much as she wanted. He said there was one demon: a succubus by the name of Eris Melania, who acted as a lover to a man nicknamed Doc. She did see her appear almost out of nowhere before another human arrived and she took her breath away. She was quite beautiful, which was common for succubus and incubus, but Katia had to remain vigilant. They can take the form of any person their meal desires, which would be bad for her if she confronted Eris directly. She would most likely take the form of Lilliana.

However, her boredom seemed to end as she saw two people arrive at the manor that she recognized very well: Sebastian and Ciel, her former coworker and employer. There was a time when she had to work for them since Lilliana was injured pretty badly and had to recover. She asked her to do this favor since Katia had a lot of free time, which she agreed to, foolishly. Unfortunately, that ended very badly when Ciel learned she was a Grim Reaper and fired her. That little brat got on her nerves even now, but she couldn't imagine how Lilliana put up with him, especially when he knows she's a Grim Reaper as well. Maybe she gained his trust over the years, but who knows. Sadly, this was bad news for her since now she would have to deal with _three_ demons instead of two. Even if they were against each other, a fellow demon would make sure another demon's contract was fulfilled, especially if threatened by a Grim Reaper. She sighed, knowing this mission was going to be complicated and sent a carrier pigeon to HQ to deliver the message, hoping to get William's help if at all possible.

Meanwhile, Sebastian and Ciel walked up to the front doors of the Baron's manor. They made sure to keep their guard up in case of something unexpected, especially since Lilliana wasn't around to ensure their safety, but at the same time, she would tell him if he was in danger. That would be against her Association, but she liked breaking rules whenever she could. Once they were close, the doors opened before they could knock. "Welcome to the Kelvin estate. The Baron has been expecting you, Lord Phantomhive," a familiar French voice said. Soon, a strange woman with purple hair appeared in front of them. However, she had purple eyes that looked familiar. "Or should I call you Smile and Black instead?"

"How do you know our names? I don't think we've met," Ciel said.

"Ah, right. You've never seen me in this form," she said before her purple hair turned black, her body type became less curvy, and her face seemed to change completely. "You're probably used to this form, non?"

Ciel was shocked by this transformation, but Sebastian was not. In fact, he felt relieved that Lilliana wasn't with them so her anger wouldn't flare at a time like this. "I haven't had time to inform you, my lord, but the fortune teller we know as Eris Melania is a demon; a succubus to be more exact."

"A demon? What business would you have here?" Ciel asked.

"I guess you'll have to wait and see, my lord," she said as her right eye turned red. "Though, I'm surprised our dear Lily isn't around, but I guess that's to be expected after-,"

"We don't have time to chit chat, Eris. The Baron is waiting for us," Joker said in a somber tone that was nothing like his usual jovial voice. Honestly, he sounded like a completely different person.

"Well then, I guess we'll talk later. If you'll please follow us," Eris said as she changed back to her normal form. Ciel was expecting to get a reaction out of Joker, but he seemed to be unfazed by it, as if this was a regular occurrence. Maybe it was. Sebastian and Ciel proceeded to walk inside and Joker closed the door behind them, leaving them in complete darkness. Soon, they could hear a snap and a small flame sparked, but soon traveled up to light any candles in its path. Once the room was lit, they could see a room surrounded by human-sized dolls, some incomplete, some suspended by strings like a marionette puppet.

"What is this?" Ciel asked in discomfort. However, he was ignored and Joker and Eris continued guiding them to the dining hall.

Huddled close so they couldn't hear, Sebastian asked, "What do you wish to do, my lord? Shall we kill them now and rescue the children from this place?"

"No. If the children are still alive, it's probably best if we take Kelvin into custody instead. We won't be able to fully report to Her Majesty without knowing the whole situation or his motives. Besides, you'll be dealing with a demon that is ordered to protect him. It won't be an easy match," Ciel whispered back.

"Right you are, my lord," Eris said seemingly out of nowhere, startling them. "I already know _your_ motive just by looking into your eyes, meaning if you prevent my master from achieving his goal, I will have to stop you."

Joker started to laugh, not by what Eris said, but by something else. "It's really true what they say. You can't judge a person by their looks. You don't look like a villainous to me. How'd a little tracker like you get to be called the Queen's Guard Dog? Musta worked hard, eh, Smile?"

"That's Earl Phantomhive to you. I don't tolerate servants speaking so familiarly."

"Oh, a feisty little one the Baron has his eye on," Eris said as her right eye turned blue.

"Nobleman through and through. If you'll come with us, _my_ _lord_ , dinner is ready in here," Joker said as they reached the dining hall door and opened it. There, they saw a long table with a plate set for two, one for Ciel and one for the Baron. Opposite of where they were sitting, there was a small stage with its curtain down, most likely for entertainment. Joker pulled back Ciel's chair and he sat down, with Sebastian remaining close by.

Soon, they heard a wheelchair creaking from the other side of the room through a door. It soon opened, followed by two children who held the door open as a disfigured man wrapped in bandages was wheeled into the room by a blonde man who looked very familiar to Ciel and especially Sebastian. His hair was blonde and he had a muscular-build that was hidden underneath his tuxedo. He wore white gloves, much like Sebastian's and his eyes were blood red. However, what stood out to them was a similar face that reminded them of Lilliana. "It's you," he said angrily as he took out his demon sword and aimed it toward Sebastian. "What are you doing here?"

"I could ask you the same question, Bastille," Sebastian said. Bastille has always been overprotective of his little sister, Lilliana, but never could get close to her due to both the Reaper Association's tight scrutiny and Sebastian's presence. It doesn't help that Bastille knows of their relationship and has viewed Sebastian as her defiler, ironically. He even placed a Branding Mar k on his poor sister so he could track her, but it can only do so much without causing her pain.

"What are you doing, Bastille?! Don't point that thing towards our dear Lord Phantomhive!" Baron Kelvin said in a panic. "He is truly here at last and I won't have anything ruin that."

"But my lord, this man has—,"

"I don't care what he's done! As long as Lord Phantomhive is here, you're not allowed to harm a single hair on either of their head. Understand?"

Bastille gritted his teeth, but regained his composure. "Yes, my lord."

"I would never imagine that I would see you doing contract work. If your sister were here, I'm sure she would find this rather hysterical." Sebastian commented.

"I'm surprised she isn't with you, but I guess it's for the best. I wouldn't want to get in her way. Has she finally gotten tired of you manipulating her?"

"No, she hasn't grown tired of us. At least we can see her in between her missions, unlike you. Besides, she has her Reaper duties to take care of."

"It feels like a dream having your noble presence so close to me," Baron said passionately, ignoring the demon banter, as Bastille wheeled him to the table. "Though, I must admit, I'm quite embarrassed to meet you looking as I do."

"I assume you're Lord Kelvin, then?" Ciel asked.

"Yes, that's right! Though, you needn't be so formal. I hope you'll join me. I've prepared a feast for you." Kelvin rang a bell and in no time, Joker, Eris, and various children dressed in servant outfits walked into the room with food trays in their hands. However, they acted like soulless robots with dead expressions on their faces. They placed the food on the table in a decorative fashion.

Soon, Eris started pouring some wine into Ciel's glass as she said, "This is a very special 1875 vintage. I'm sure you recognize your birth year, my lord." When she placed it on the table, she said quietly to him, "I believe he's gotten a little too far with all of this. And don't you fear about being poisoned. He wouldn't harm you."

"I've no desire to eat a meal hosted by a filthy rat. The police's information was clearly incomplete. There were more victims than they knew. And the look on their faces—,"

"Oh, I know! A meal without entertainment will be positively boring, won't it? Joker, won't you be a good lad and put on a show for us?" Kelvin said enthusiastically.

"My show?"

"Just do it, understand?" Kelvin threatened.

Joker was hesitant and Eris sensed it, so she stepped up and said with a grey right eye, "I can do it for you." He nodded and she proceeded onto the stage. She changed her appearance so she would look like Joker in female form and said in his usual jovial tone, in fact nearly copied his voice, "Welcome, Lord Phantomhive! I hope you're ready! Tonight's a night like no other. We'll whisk you away to a word of enchantment and great feats of daring." Soon, the curtain lifted to reveal even more children dressed in colorful circus costumes, but kept that same dead expression on their faces. Kelvin started giggling and clapping like a child while the others proceeded with caution. They didn't know what was to be expected, except for Joker and Bastille. "For our first act, we have our tightrope walker and yeh'll notice there's no safety net. It's an authentic battle for life or death, folks." The girl started to walk on the thin rope with no fear, but she had no balance and quickly fell and landed head first to the ground, cracking her head open and killing her. Ciel looked in disgust, Joker couldn't watch, and Baron Kelvin was as giddy as a child, while the demons looked on indifferent.

"Well that's unfortunate," Bastille said. However, he had a sense that someone was watching them and he couldn't shake it off. Through a window, Katia made sure to be hidden. Out of all the demons to be here, it had to be Bastille Kilia, Lilliana's older brother. This man was the reason why she came to England in the first place; her mission was to kill him since he was deemed a "rogue demon", but she soon realized that he was labeled that just because he wanted to see his sister again and keep a close relationship, which was strictly forbidden. It's tragic for anyone with any sense of emotions, but Reapers don't let their emotions distract them from their work or Reaper law.

One of the costumed children dragged the body off the stage as four more pushed a cage to the stage with a boy and a lion inside, separated by a removable wall "Next up, our lion tamer! Watch as he masters the savage beast," Eris exclaimed. Once the wall was removed, the lion wasted no time in ripping the boys to shreds, who had no reaction to his mutilation. Baron Kelvin giggled loudly at this carnage and it was making Ciel sick. "And now, our _deadly_ -accurate knife thrower," Eris said as two children wheeled in a target with a girl tied on it. Another boy walked out with knives in his hands, ready for the cue. "What'll become of this fair maiden in his talented hands?" The boy took a knife in hand and aimed it toward the target, but Ciel had enough.

"Stop him!" he yelled. Luckily for the girl, Sebastian caught the knife in time before it could pierce her skull. Baron was confused how he managed to stop it in time, but was also disappointed that the show was over.

Sebastian removed her mask and took out a piece of paper from his pocket. "This appears to be a girl who went missing in Cornwall, Ellery Nixon. There's no doubt about it."

"Abducting children and forcing them to perform for you. Despicable. Had to find some way of bringing the circus home, did you?" Ciel said, trying to keep his composure despite witnessing such a sight.

"I'm sorry. This show isn't to you taste, then? Joker, Bastille, clean this mess up at once!" Kelvin said.

"We're finished here. I never realized there was a form of life even more vile than a rat," Ciel said before slowly approaching Kelvin.

"What? I don't understand."

"This will do for my report to the queen, 'I found this vulgar, unsightly, perverted brute, hidden away in his foul nest. And I saw fit to dispose of him'," Ciel said as he pulled a gun on him. Joker tried to defend him and pulled out a knife to Ciel, only for Sebastian to quickly pull a knife on him. However, Bastille aimed his demon sword on Sebastian and although regular weapons can't harm demons, a demon sword can.

"Joker, Bastille, what do you two think you're doing pointing those dangerous objects at the earl?! Lower your weapons at once!"

"But Father, I—," Joker tried to explain.

"Surely you won't disobey me, especially you, Bastille." Both of them gritted their teeth at the idea, but did as told and lowered their weapons. Ciel and Sebastian were confused why he would say this, but used it to their advantage. "My loyal servant, Bastille, would you do me this one favor? Would you find Eris's master? I want everyone to be here to meet the young lord."

"You cannot be serious—," Bastille tried to say.

"But he already has," Eris stepped in, trying to break up the standoff and help the Baron, even if he didn't want it.

"Foolish girl, he did not meet the true Ciel Phantomhive! Bring him to our specially prepared room! Hurry," Kelvin ordered.

Bastille was reluctant, but bowed as he said, "Very well, my lord. Come, Eris." She nodded and bowed before the two of them left the room, leaving both the Baron and Joker in mortal danger. "I can't believe how idiotic that man is. He's willing to sacrifice his life and all we've worked for just to please that brat."

"Well, there's not much you can do. We're under obligation to follow our masters' orders, no matter how ridiculous they are. Besides, he's finally achieved his goal," she said as she changed back to her usual form.

"You're right about that, but you know as well as I do where this will lead."

"Afraid so," she said as her right eye turned red. "But the good news is that we'll be rewarded soon enough for our hard work."

However, her stomach growled and Bastille chuckled a bit. "Hungry?"

"Well what else would it mean?" she asked playfully. "Now I could try to get one last meal out of my master, but knowing him, he's too busy for me, like usual. I'm afraid I'll need something much quicker."

Bastille sighed as he said, "We'll have to make it quick."

"That's never the issue for me," she said as the two of them quickly walked into a guest room.

* * *

 ** _BANG_**! The sound rang throughout a room that traumatized Ciel. This bastard had recreated the memory that tormented him for years: a stone altar placed in the middle of a round theater room with cages filled with lobotomized children that had not been deemed useful for service or entertainment. Apparently, the Baron had it recreated to relive the day he had missed years ago. Ever since he met Ciel when he was younger and his father, Vincent Phantomhive, he had an obsession with them. However, he missed the fateful meeting due to his injuries from botched surgeries. Since then, he vowed to make Ciel his and die by his hand. That's when Ciel pulled the trigger and shot him in the chest. "Father," Joker yelled as he pushed Sebastian away and pulled out his knife hidden in his prosthetic arm, but Sebastian slashed his good arm clean off. Joker fell to the ground and yelled in pain.

"I'm afraid I'll have to ask you to please stay out of my young lord's way," Sebastian said coldly.

"It's hurts, my lord! Oh, the agony! Kill me! I'm ready to die. Give me the same death you gave them! Is that asking so much?" Baron begged as he wiggled his body closer to Ciel, but he was introduced to Ciel's boot in his face.

"You want the same death they had? Then you'd better prostate yourself like the worm you are and beg a demon to kill you," Ciel said as he aimed the gun at his head.

"Bastille! Eris! Where are you?! Help Father!" Joker yelled, but they were still missing. "Bastille has to hear us! He was sworn to protect Father no matter what!"

"But it seems that Baron Kelvin wished to die by Ciel's hand. I'd say he is following orders by not getting in the way," Sebastian said with a smirk.

Joker crawled to Ciel as he begged, "Please don't shoot him!" Let him live! I beg you! Whatever else he may be, he's still our savior! Abandoned by our parents and ignored by the State, we lived each day in fear of starvation before he came. And there are young ones back at the workhouse still; our brothers and sisters who rely on his support. They'll die without him!"

"I see now. That's why you kidnapped all the children. You were only too happy to obey this man and sacrifice others' lives to save your own skins," Ciel said.

"You're right. You nobles might not see it, but England is a living Hell for people like us. We had nothing—no money for bread, not even whole bodies to protect our friends. Then Father came. He rescued us from the streets and gave us limbs we needed to make our own way. That's why we agreed to do what he wanted, even if another Hell is waiting for us with open arms. I've never once doubted that what we were doing was wrong, but I—,"

"In my opinion, it wasn't wrong. You fought to protect the only world in which you felt safe. Really, justice is nothing more than a fine line drawn by those in power to serve their own ends. No one gives a damn about anyone else; it falls to each person to look after his own. You see, there are only two people in this world: those who steal and those who are stolen from. Today, I am the person who has come to steal your futures away from you."

Joker looked down, not wanting to hear those words, but after some time, he started to laugh, which alarmed the both of them. "And I can't stop yeh. But you know . . . you'll lose something precious tonight, too. Even as we speak, the troupe is on its way to your manor. Surely you don't think it was pure luck that we managed to abduct all those children without getting caught? No, you see, all the witnesses disappear. If anyone crosses our path on the job for any reason, we eliminate them. Everyone, even the servants. I wonder how many will be killed while they search for you."

Sebastian chuckled and Ciel smirked as he said, "My servants? Killed? Your friends are in for a surprise. They're not just any servants. They're _Phantomhive_ servants."

* * *

 ** _What does it mean to be a Phantomhive servant? Why are Eris and Bastille contracted? How will Lilliana and Grell handle their mission? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	8. Sneering Devils

Lilliana waited anxiously for Grell to arrive for their meeting up in the Big Ben bell tower. She wondered if the Head Reapers told him about them working together and wished to see his reaction if they did. They were never on good terms with each other, especially since he deemed her as his rival of love to Sebastian and even William. Luckily, Ronald was there to keep her company, but the main reason he was there was to give Grell's chainsaw back to him. "You have no idea the work I put in to get this back for Mr. Sutcliff. If I hadn't asked that girl in General Affairs about it, it wouldn't even exist today," he said, trying to alleviate his boredom since Grell was running late, to no one's surprise.

"I can only imagine," she said as she released a sigh. "I thought that he would be on time for once since this mission is at—,"

"I'm back~!" Grell exclaimed as he arrived. Ronald smiled and Lilliana frowned as they saw the red coworker run up to them, or more to his chainsaw, to which he revved up and spun around in a giddy fashion. He laughed maniacally, happy to be reunited with his favorite toy. "It feels so good to have this back in my hands! This is the best Death Scythe a Reaper could ever have!"

"You're really wound up, aren't cha?" Ronald said. "I take it you're happy to be released."

"The beasts made me clean and do chores for my entire confinement! It was positively ghastly! You can't know how I've longed for this day!"

"I think I can imagine it quite well," Lilliana said, holding back her frustration, especially when she knew her anger was beyond her control. "And you had to do chores all day! Oh, how terrible," she said sarcastically. She would know better than anyone the horrors of rehabilitation.

"Oh right, the only rain on my parade," Grell said bitterly. "The only reason you're here is because they expect you to teach me to remain out of trouble after getting out."

"Nice to see you too," she commented snarky. "But you better pay him back for all he's done by working diligently."

"Oh, I will and besides, this mission is special. I expect tonight will be _very_ entertaining. It won't be long now, darling Bassy~! I'm coming for you!" Grell yelled as he started roof-jumping towards the Phantomhive manor.

"Take a good look, Ronald: this will be the only time you'll ever see Grell Sutcliff excited about work," she said as she was about to follow him. "Too bad he'll be mighty disappointed."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have your hands full. I have some work of my own I have to get to," Ronald said as he stretched.

"Wait, don't you usually have the day shift?"

"Yeah, but this mission is mighty important. A lot of souls will be reaped tonight."

"Let me guess: William will be helping you too."

"Wait, how did you—," Ronald asked in shock.

"Somehow, both of my jobs coincided for a couple of days. So, I might have an idea what you're going to do. Just not the fine details," she said as she finally jumped off to follow Grell. She was at least fortunate to not have to force him to do his job; a promise to see Bassy was enough for him to keep him motivated, even if it was going to be short-lived.

Eventually, the two of them arrived to the manor, which made Grell giddier the closer they were, but Lilliana kept quiet about Sebastian's whereabouts. She wanted to see the disappointment on his face. It should be quite the show.

Suddenly, they heard a loud crash from the distance and Lilliana had a good idea what happened. "Oh my goodness. Has the party started without us? Mighty impatient, aren't they?" Grell said.

"We're Phantomhive servants; we'll get the job done quickly and efficiently for our young master," she replied as the two finally reached the manor. They hid behind trees and the first thing they saw was a large hole in the stone wall of the manor with blood splatters surrounding it. Only one lone gardener could have done such damage. Soon, they saw Peter and Wendy try to avenge Jumbo's death by slicing Finnian, but his super strength frightened them and they knew they had to get out of the area. They used their acrobat skills to their advantage as they used specialty wires to swing from whatever structure it wrapped around. Eventually, they gained high ground and planned to slice Finnian in half with the wire as he tried to jump up to attack them as they descended. However, before they could, a gunshot was heard and a bullet traveled clean through Wendy's head, instantly killing her. "Nice shot, Mey-Rin," Lilliana said to herself as she watched Peter avoid the multiple shots surrounding him.

"Collection time," Grell said as two Cinematic Records surrounded him. "Such dull lives despite colorful costumes—wait, why are you here?!"

"Oh, did I forget to mention I met the people scheduled to die at the circus?" she said sarcastically as she heard one final gunshot followed by a crashing window. Soon, a third Cinematic Record slithered its way to her. She looked through it, but she already knew the verdict. After a few moments, she completed the collection and put the COMPLETED stamp on Peter's file.

"I never took you for the performer ty— _oh my goodness!_ Bassy and William?! Together! Doing tricks! Oh, I would have cut off an arm and leg to just watch a second of this! . . . _HOW DARE YOU!"_

"Excuse me?" she said as she looked through the other Cinematic Record that was lingering. She knew he was going to take a while with that one Record.

"You had your filthy paws all over my dear William! If I didn't know any better, you were trying to feel him up! Shameless!"

"That's funny coming from you," she said as she completed the collection. "But I just want you to know that isn't me. Apparently there was a succubus lurking around the circus grounds who thought it would be _hilarious_ to take my form and mess with them." Her eyes became red, but she managed to keep her anger under control, though she knew one little annoyance could trigger the ultimate fury. It didn't help that Grell was the epitome of that annoyance for her.

"Well whoever this bitch is, she better not cross my path or I'll chop her down into pieces for laying a hand on my dear William!"

"You and me both," she said under her breath. However, most of the action had moved inside as Finny and Mey-Rin rushed inside. Not wanting to miss a rare show, Lilliana said, "I'm gonna go inside to get a closer look. You should stay out here."

"Wait! I need to find my Bassy before he gets too preoccupied with all this!" Grell said as he was ready to follow her.

"Oh, he's not here. He's on a mission with the young lord elsewhere. Bye~," she said before leaving his side.

"Are you serious?! What cruel fate separates us so! I wanted to give him a long-awaited kiss!"

"I'm sure he doesn't want that," she said from a distance. She walked through the front door and saw that a statue miraculously found its way on the main staircase. "I guess they're already busy," she said as listened to the gunshots and loud crashing noises close to the drawing room. She quickly ran that direction and could see Dagger and Beast running for their lives as they avoid Mey-Rin's gunshots and Finny's airborne statues. Eventually, they moved quickly to a stairway, but they tripped and fell down instead. They soon got up and quickly started to run away from the freaks after their lives. "Who are these bastards?! This place is a madhouse!" Dagger yelled before they spotted Lilliana. "Wait, Lily? What are you doing here?"

"Peter was right: you did disappear with Black and Smile. Tell me, are you working for the Yard?!" Beast yelled as she tried to use her whip on her, but Lilliana caught it as easily as Sebastian did before.

"No, not exactly. In fact, the Yard doesn't exactly like us very much," she said before letting the whip go.

"Then you can help us. These people are trying to kill us! We have to find a way for us to escape," he pleaded.

"But you are the people who walked in here and were about to kill anyone who got in the way of your plan to kidnap Ciel Phantomhive."

"How did you—," Beast tried to ask in confusion, but the words were tied on her tongue.

"No need to hide things from me, I know everything about you two and why you're doing this. After all, you wanted to please your Father, didn't you? But at what cost? Your morality? Your dignity? I can bet you that there is none left after everything you've done."

"Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" Dagger said as he threw knives at her, hitting her in areas that would surely kill her, mainly her chest and head. "I'm sorry, Lily. I wish things didn't have to be this way," he said as the two of them turned around and were about to head for an escape, but they heard chuckling behind them and their skin turned pale. They slowly turned around and were frozen in shock by what they saw.

"Dear me, you actually aimed to kill, even after everything we've been through. I even wore that fucking outfit for you. Has it occurred to you two that I might have suffered enough already?" she asked as she slowly got up, as if her body was possessed with the knives still lodged in her and blood pouring from her wounds. "But no, I guess humans don't have much sympathy for each other as I thought. Then again, who am I to judge? I'm not even supposed to have any emotions since it would affect my job performance." She pulled out the knives from her body, but the wounds slowly healed and the bleeding stopped in a few seconds. Her eyes were blood-red and she had a wicked grin on her face, as if she were a demon. "Well, it doesn't matter. I already know the fate of your souls without even having to look through them. Such a shame; I could have been merciful and given you both a second chance at life."

"She's a monster!" Beast yelled as the two ran away in fear. Lilliana shrugged as she dropped the knives and watched them run to the kitchen. She knew where this would end up, but didn't want to be in the line of fire, especially when she could not be seen by the others so she could collect the souls.

After she cleaned herself up, she decided to join Grell in collection on the roof, away from the scene below. He was looking through Dagger's Cinematic Record and analyzed it the same as before: nothing to report. After a while, they heard an explosion and soon, another Cinematic Record floated towards them. "And that should be the last one for the night. I'm surprised you actually got your work done without incident," Lilliana commented.

"Oh shut it. This mission has been stultifying dull! And I had such expectations too! I thought any job here would involve Bassy, but he's gone from the manor and there's nobody about remotely to my taste!" Grell whined.

She rolled her eyes. "Glad you have your priorities in order."

"It doesn't help that you're here to treat me like a leashed mutt. Can fate be crueler?" Grell said as he looked back at Beast's Cinematic Record, but noticed something very alarming. " _WHAT_?! Wait a moment! No!"

"What has you so wiled up?" she said as she took a look at the Record, but she was stunned and her lip and eye started to twitch in anger.

"Is this Bassy's type, then?! Ugly wenches with nothing to brag about but large baps?" he commented, not aware of her growing anger behind him. "My turn! Trade places with me, wench! Ah, it may be in a woman's nature to fall into the arms of men she knows are cruel, but this time, my dear, you fell into the arms of the worst man alive. Just be glad you had fun while you could."

"That bastard," she finally uttered out. Grell finally looked behind her and shrieked at the red eyes. The last time he saw those, he got a good ass-whooping from her and Sebastian. "So this is how he found out about the Baron Kelvin. And all this time I thought he managed to slip past William after I—,"

"Serves you right, you home-wrecker. A man like him will never be loyal to a woman like you and you should have known that from the start. Pretending that you two have anything more than a fling is just sad."

"Who are you to have any room to talk?" she said with gritted teeth. "There isn't a day when you said you didn't want to have Sebastian as your sexy knight in shining armor ready to take his princess in her bed! Such a fucking hypocrite!"

"You really want to insult me? I can report your side relationship to William and he'll have you put back in the rehabilitation center for sure!" However, that crossed the line for her and she pulled out her Death Scythe and tried to strike him in the blink of an eye. Luckily for him, his reflexes were near immediate and he got out of the way. He ran away into the nearby forest to avoid being seen by the others while also fearing that he might need his chainsaw. He swore he saw murder in her eyes and it terrified him more than ever before. She followed him and once they were some distance away, Grell stopped in his tracks as he watched her slowly close the distance between them. "L-Look, I was just kidding about all that. You know that I would never do that! It might hurt me more in the process."

"Of course, everything has to be about you, you egotistical, selfish, obnoxious waste of life. If the spotlight isn't on you for a second, you would surely die. But then again, that wouldn't be such a bad thing. We might actually have some peace around the office without you around."

"How dare you! I'll make you regret those words," he said as he revved his chainsaw with shaky hands.

She smirked as she positioned herself for a fight. "I'm glad you're willing to participate. It'll help me out a lot more than you would ever know."

* * *

"My servants; those are actually private soldiers who were hand-picked to guard my manor. They'll protect Phantomhive secrets and pride from anything. After all, that's what makes a Phantomhive servant. Even the god of Death is on our side," Ciel explained to Joker, who was so close to death, they were surprised he had the strength to keep himself up.

"We're professionals too and we're quite good. It won't be easy to—," he said.

"You're free to believe as you like, but let's not get too optimistic. You should keep in mind that _I_ hired them," Sebastian said with a smirk. At that point, Joker broke down, realizing there was no hope for anyone, and began to cry. He could wish that his circus family stayed alive, but they were confident they would die. At this point, he would be dead too. If only things were different . . .

"Don't cry; it's pathetic. Your tears won't change a thing. It doesn't matter who you are; the world is never kind to anyone," Ciel said.

Soon, they heard wheels turning near the entrance of the room. They turned to find Doc rolling in, thanks to Eris, and Bastille at their side. The demons' clothes and hair were a bit disheveled, which only Sebastian noticed. Eris smiled when she saw the carnage inside and Bastille kept the scowl he had for Sebastian earlier. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm not empty-handed . . . What's this? Black and Smile?"

"Right, I forgot to tell you about them. Silly me," Eris said innocently.

"Run, Doc! Leave now! They work together as the Queen's guard dog! Run while you still can" Joker tried to warn.

"Me? Why should I? You and your circus freaks are the kidnappers," Doc said calmly as he got up from his chair and started heading toward the altar. "I only preformed the services the good Baron Kelvin hired me for. I have no reason to run."

"Wait, your legs . . . you can walk?" Joker said in shock.

"Sorry? . . . Ah, right, yes, they're perfectly fine. I just find the chair more useful. Children seem to trust me more easily when I'm in it."

"And all this time, I thought he was just lazy," Bastille said under his breath, making Eris chuckle. Sebastian and Ciel made sure to keep their eyes on the demons, one who is currently master-less and the other that knew their plan from the very start. Even if they were in sidelines, there was no telling what they would do.

"Lord Kelvin!" Doc yelled as he ran to the lifeless benefactor, but it was too late. "Well, he's beyond my help. I know a lost cause when I see one. What a shame. Do you know how hard it was for me to find a patron who shared my ideals?" Eris cleared her throat loudly to gain their attention. "With your help, of course, my dear Eris."

"Not like you cared, anyway," she said bitterly.

"You hurt me! I was tolling away for years trying to create the perfect prosthetic and I have, thanks to you! After mountains of research, I discovered the perfect material, something lighter and stronger than wood and possessing the uniquely sterile beauty of ceramic. I created what no crafter before me had been able to. Though, there is a problem with the material in that it is a touch hard to come by."

"As much as I don't approve of them, I must admit that they are the closest thing to perfect that humanity might reach," Bastille said.

"I'm glad you finally have come around to appreciate its beauty, Bastille! Perhaps Baron Kelvin has finally rubbed off on you a little. As the two of them know, I can only get these special materials here," Doc said as he walked to a cage that held the soulless children.

"Wait, hold on . . . No, they're . . . ," Ciel said, piecing everything together.

"Yes, and it also eliminates the trouble of disposing their bodies elsewhere. Waste not, want not, I always say." However, Joker surprised them all as he started screaming and banging what was left of his prosthetic arm on the ground, trying to break it. "Why must all my patients react that way? Come now, Joker. You've always been so pleased with the right hand I made just for you."

"If I had known, I would never have wanted it," Joker muttered before taking his last breath.

Doc sighed. "He would have turned down a working hand? I wouldn't be so sure, but it's tragic. Without the Baron, I will find myself unemployed. Oh say, Lord Phantomhive, would you hire me, perhaps? Better still, introduce me to Her Majesty? She is getting on in years, right? Surely she could use a little maintenance, so to speak. You could give me a reference, eh?"

"Heartless as always," Bastille commented as the two of them finally walked down to the altar, mainly for Eris to go through with her contract.

"Don't you dare sully the Queen's name with your mouth," Ciel threatened.

"Oh no, not another man of limited imagination who cares more about the process than about the results. Everyone always sings my praise until they know the details," Doc said as he grabbed a little girl from the cage and started dragging her to the altar. "Not the Baron, though. He was different. His only concern was beauty. He spared no expense when it came to my materials. He was the finest patron a man could ask for. He understood that making the finest product requires the finest ingredients, something one thinks would be common sense."

Ciel started to shake in terror as the memories of the worst days of his life played in his head while Doc placed the little girl on the altar and grabbed a knife from a drawer. Eris looked at Ciel in the eyes and she realized she made a mistake as she too began to shake in fear. She could see his pain and feel every scar etched into his soul. Bastille noticed this and got worried. "Eris, what's wrong?"

Once Doc plunged the knife in the little girl, Ciel and Eris began to scream at the top of their lungs. The male demons tried to comfort the screamer, but Doc was surprised to hear Eris scream. "You've seen the process before, Eris. This shouldn't frighten you."

"You idiot! It wasn't her fear that she felt," Bastille said angrily as he kept Eris close to him. "If you paid attention to her, you would understand."

"I know how she works. While also knowing our deepest desires, she can sense how her victims feel at any given time by just looking in their eyes. It's quite the unique gift perfect for manipulation. She'll get over the terror and return to her normal self in no time."

"For a man who is contracted to her, you have no compassion at all to the woman who gave you everything!"

"And I suppose she had any for me? You're demons; you see humans as nothing more than sustenance."

"And yet you're the sickest and most foolish man I've ever know," Bastille said as he walked toward Doc threateningly.

"N-Now hold on! You're under order from the Baron to protect me. You can't harm me," he said with fear in his voice.

"That would be true if the Baron was still alive," Bastille said before he stabbed his sword into Doc's chest. Ciel and Sebastian only watched as they watched Doc fall to the ground, bleeding to death. "I don't know if you know this, but a wound inflicted from a demon sword can never heal for a human. Even for deities, it takes a long time to fully heal."

"Eris! My love! Please, save me! You can't let me die! My dream hasn't been fulfilled!" Doc pleaded.

Bastille eyed him angrily, but Eris walked up to him and knelt down to him, as if she was going to save him. "You practically starved me, Doc. If I didn't find loopholes from our agreement, I surely would have died. Unlike regular demons, succubus need to be fed often and you only bothered to feed me when you felt like it, which became practically never as time went on!"

"W-Wait, you cheated on me! But our agreement—,"

She laughed. "Our agreement? You're really trying to justify yourself, even now? Our 'agreement' was that you would gain the recognition you desired for your prosthetic in exchange for constant meals for me. For any other men, this would be a dream come true to fuck the most beautiful woman they could imagine, but your lust for glory was stronger. On top of that, you had the nerve to forbid me from sleeping with any other human. However, I found a way to keep myself alive," Eris said as she looked at Bastille. "Although not as filling, it still gets the job done."

"Y-You whore!"

"And you're just a lowly piece of shit that will die before his dream came true. So tragic, but our contract was doomed from the start when you didn't keep your end of the bargain. Au revoir," she said before she pierced her hand into his chest and obtained his soul. She consumed it and she laughed hysterically. "Finally! It's over! I'm free from this torture!"

"So will I once I get the Baron's soul," Bastille said as he walked up to Baron Kelvin and did the same as her.

"I don't understand. How could two demons trap themselves in this perversion and not be the ones pulling the strings?" Ciel asked.

"You think of us as this twisted? Surely you jest. It's not like Sebastian is controlling your actions to make you do the things you do," Eris explained. "The only real reason why we get such a bad reputation is because of the masters we serve. There have been plenty of people over history that have benefited from demonic help that worked to better humanity, but no, those are credited to angels and the like. It's infuriating, but that's the world you humans created."

"Then why did you two form contracts with these men? Surely you knew their intent."

"The same as you: a meal is a meal, regardless of the wickedness in their souls," Bastille said. Ciel gulped a bit, wondering if this was exactly how Sebastian viewed him.

"Meanwhile, I wanted some excitement. Eventually, you sleep with every type of man and woman that things get boring. I wanted a challenge and thought a contract might be fun. That soul could fill me longer than hundreds of humans ever could," Eris said. "Though, I wasn't expecting to be screwed in the process."

"You're just lucky that our masters happened to meet each other or else we would have never met."

"Or joined the circus to meet some interesting characters, right, Smile and Black?" Eris said with a smirk. "And I suppose Suit and Lily too, but they're not here, unfortunately. I guess it's for the better."

"Wait, Lily? She was there?" Bastille asked, looking at the duo.

"Indeed. Wherever they go, she follows, except for now. She had to make sure our dear Grell Sutcliff behaved himself while collecting souls at the Phantomhive manor." At the sound of his name, everyone except her shuddered in disgust. She turned to Bastille and her right eye turned green. "Huh, I didn't think you knew him."

"Unfortunately, especially now that I learned what _he_ truly is."

"Now it makes sense why she didn't spare me any details about her mission," Sebastian said, feeling both hurt and relieved. He was just glad he didn't go to the manor before arriving here. "Speaking of her, you caused her to be wrathful lately. I want to inform you that we both know what you did and will release the effects on her."

"I hope so! The longer that spice stays in her system, the less likely she'll be able to contain her rage. Trust me, I've seen it myself," Eris teased.

"Wait, when you asked for them . . . ," Bastille asked.

"Well, I cannot obtain the Wrathful Spice due to my lustful nature, but a high-ranking demon like you can get anything. Besides, I needed to distract her while I fed at the circus."

Bastille felt a bit hurt, but didn't show it. "I should have expected it. And the person you needed to feed on . . . ,"

"You've never met him," Eris said before looking at Sebastian and Ciel, her right eye still green. "But they have."

"And what does that imply?" Sebastian asked. He was as determined as Lilliana to figure out why she took her form.

Eris chuckled. "You'll have to ask Lilliana. I'm sure she'll know. Though, I'm not sure how willing she is to tell you. She's not the kind of person who likes to express her emotions."

"Regardless, I believe it's about time we made our leave. I'm sure Ciel has diplomatic duties to attend to regarding this ordeal," Bastille said, trying to change the subject. Last thing he wanted to know was anything regarding his sister's twisted love life, even if it was just a man attracted to her.

"Aw, already? But I wanted to chat longer," Eris whined playfully.

"We got our meal. We have no further business here. Besides, you know very well how much pain this place is bringing the young lord over there. I'm sure you'll want him to leave this place as soon as possible."

Eris looked at Ciel, who was in Sebastian's arms, and she sighed. "You're right. Though, I do have some unfinished business I must attend to. Wait for me by the fork in the roads in the forest not too far from here. I shouldn't take long."

"All right," he said as he watched Eris walk out of the room. "You three should hurry before that clean-up crew shows up to collect the remaining souls. At this rate, they could be outside as we speak."

Once the three of them were alone, Bastille looked at Sebastian and said as he pointed his demon sword at him, "I should kill you right now. This would be the perfect chance while Lily can't protect you. A demon like you manipulating her into doing what you want is unforgivable. However . . . ," he said as he put it away. "Until she chooses to free herself from that infernal Association, you're the only method I have to make sure she's all right."

"A demon caring for a Grim Reaper, how fascinating. If only you were able to protect her when she was yours, we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Bastille gritted his teeth. "Though, make no mistake, one of these days, when that boy isn't around, I will kill you and release her from your spell."

"You can certainly try, but I have no intention of leaving this world anytime soon," Sebastian said with a smirk. Bastille glared at him, but decided to turn around and walk out of the room. He had no energy to spare to continue this fight unless he intended to fight. Once the two of them were alone, Sebastian said to his young master, "It's over now, my lord."

"Burn the manor down," Ciel muttered.

"Pardon me, master. May I remind you of Her Majesty's letter? I was under the impression that her desire was that we locate the kidnappers and return the children safely."

"Shut your mouth! Don't leave any trace behind! Burn everything here down to ash! Am I making myself clear?! This is an order!" Ciel yelled hysterically. Sebastian was surprised by this outburst, but he didn't need Eris to know what he was feeling. He was scared; surrounded by reminders of the day they met really terrified him. Sebastian removed his bloody glove with his teeth and dropped it to the floor. Soon, he put a hand close to a flame and the fire expanded in a miraculous rate.

"Burn it down. Yes, my lord," he said as he left the manor, leaving the flames of mercy behind.

* * *

"And there they go," Katia said as the first set of Cinematic Records started to surround her. "It's tragic that the children died so young. I thought the young lord would be merciful."

"I hope you're not trying to delude yourself from your duties. We have a job to do," William said as he swiftly completed collection after collection. He arrived not too long after the group inside went to the replica room. She made the choice to not save the contracted souls since there were too many demons involved, which she reported to him. However, she left out that Bastille was there since that would mean she purposely let her target go without a fight. She would be in serious trouble if anyone knew that.

"But I'm surprised to see Ciel Phantomhive and his butler here. I knew that Baron Kelvin had some history with him, but I didn't think he would be the one to kill him."

"I didn't think to inform you since I viewed it unimportant at the time, but he, his devil, and Ms. Kiliamo were also investigating the circus. I didn't think it would lead them here."

"Wait! Lilliana and you were investigating together? Then what was the point with all that talk about not letting Lilliana know about the mission since she might work with the demons?"

"We didn't investigate together; we had two separate objectives and rarely exchanged information."

"Oh. Did she stay in the shadows or did she go undercover too?"

"The latter, unfortunately for her."

"Oh wow! I would have loved to see what she was wearing. You wouldn't let me see your costume and I bet if I asked her, she won't show me either," she said, hiding a hint of perverse in her tone regarding Lilliana.

"I'm sure she won't. She wore it as little as possible, same as me," he said rather short. Regarding Lilliana and the circus, he wanted to speak as little about it as possible. Despite the time away, he never truly came to terms with what happened between him and Eris. He wanted to talk further with Lilliana to clear his name and explain as much as he could, but he couldn't articulate in his mind what he would say to her or how she would react.

Soon, Ronald joined the duo and apologized for being late. "I did my best to hurry, but it wasn't fast enough. I shall strive to do better in the future." William glared at him and Ronald continued, "Hey now, I said I was sorry. I had to give Grell his Death Scythe before he and Lilliana went off on their job."

"Wait, Grell and Lilliana?" Katia asked.

"Yes. I assigned her to work with that cretin so he would stay on task after getting released from suspension," William said.

"Well, you're just full of secrets today, William, but I guess that explains why she isn't here with Ciel and Sebastian."

"I'm starting to get jealous though. That job looked a lot easier than this one from what I can see here," Ronald said, pointing at the numerous Records slithering by them.

"Honestly, we must not become emotionally involved. Doing so only causes trouble. Lilliana may have the strength if needed to subdue Sutcliff, but I was afraid she would try to save some of the souls of people she knew. Luckily, the ones to be collected were not. Our job as Grim Reapers is to examine and collect souls in accordance to the list distributed by our supervisors. That's it, nothing more," William practically lectured.

"Yeah, yeah, we've heard the speech before. Everyone knows what their job is without you having to hammer it in all the time," Ronald said as he revved his lawnmower, ready to collect a soul.

"Is that Death Scythe of yours approved for soul harvesting?" William asked.

"The form is all in order, don't you worry. I have a lady friend in General Affairs."

"The cause of death for a good number of these souls is a fire. However, despite what the files say, it was started by a demon," Katia said as she collected another soul.

"What? You can't be serious!" Ronald exclaimed.

"However, he wasn't the only demon here. Two souls were contracted by demons, one that we figured out to be a succubus, but the other was a high-ranking demon that would have been difficult to take down. We lost those two souls, but the rest remain. Apparently, our fire-starter isn't the type to scavenge for food, but we mustn't be careless," she continued, leaving out important details. "Though, paperwork is going to be endless regarding those lost souls."

"Regardless, it is our job to collect each and every remaining soul. Let's finish before our shift ends," William said.

"Yes sir," the two others said in unison as the three of them ventured into the burning manor to locate the remaining souls.

After some time, the three of them split up to find any remaining Cinematic Records lurking around. They collected nearly all of them, but there were still some unaccounted for, excluding the two contracted souls. William looked through each room, hoping to find the rest and return to Headquarters to finish the paperwork. However, as he entered one room, he was shocked to see a living being not engulfed by the flames surrounding them, but even more shocking was the resemblance.

She was messing with her hair in a melting mirror, but when she saw him, she turned around and pouted. "I was expecting that little American girl to come here. I didn't expect to see you again, mon cher," she said calmly.

"You . . . ," was all he could muster. Not again. Not now.

"I don't expect to fool you twice, especially after our little incident a couple of nights ago," Eris said before changing her appearance to her usual form. "You Reapers think you're so sneaky, but we knew that she was watching us from outside the manor."

"Why . . . Why do you haunt me?" William said, slowly regaining the strength to confront her fully.

"I didn't mean to, dearie. I didn't think you would be here, but this _is_ part of your investigation. I shouldn't be too surprised," she said before walking toward him. "Tell me, Will, how it felt to finally get what you wanted for centuries, even if it wasn't fully realized."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he said as he tried to grab his Death Scythe to strike her, but she swiftly took it out of his hands and threw it away from them.

"It's just a simple question. You don't need your little toy to talk. Now, answer me."

"It felt unnatural. I was under some spell to make me do those things—,"

Eris laughed. "You can't admit it, even now! How pathetic! I know your deepest desires, even if you don't know it, remember? Well, since you won't admit it, I'll tell you exactly how it felt," she said as she got close to his face that she could have kissed him if she tried. "It was euphoric. After many long years of hiding those desires with conformity and professionalism, you had a moment where you could be honest with yourself and she would have done anything you wanted."

"By 'she', you mean 'you'?" William argued.

"I'm not so sure about that," she said with a smirk. "But, as I looked into your eyes, I notice something more and more fascinating that I never expected from a man of your divinity."

"And that would be?"

"It isn't just lust I sensed. There was something much deeper that I rarely see. With the licentious people I encountered, I was in no short of people who only lusted for others, whether wishing for a night or a lifetime of carnal pleasure. However, there are the exceptions that would like that as well, but something more . . . intimate with the person they desired. They cared about them, wanted to protect them and keep them happy, provided for them. They would do anything for the other person and that was enough for them. You're the same for Lilliana."

"What?! You're out of your mind!" William exclaimed, taking a step back.

"I thought I was for a while. Isn't your kind supposed to be devoid of emotion? Now, how can a Grim Reaper even have inklings of a human emotion like love? It's unheard of!"

"Quit it! Whatever you saw was in the past when I was a naive student attracted to the first girl I saw."

"Non, non, non, William. They are as real now as they were back then. I argue that they are more profound now. That guilt you harbored for having to cut off your emotions for her still exists inside you. You just refuse to see it, especially when you have such a high standing in your little Association. You couldn't let a scandal ruin your reputation and she was and still remains to be nothing but one."

"Reapers can't feel love. It's impossible, downright absurd."

Eris smirked. "That's not what Thomas Wallace thought when he wrote that book about you two." William's eyes widened at that name. "In that book, Will was willing to give up his very existence for the human named Lily, but here you are, pretending she is nothing more than a coworker. She must have felt heartbroken when she became part of the Association and you threw her aside. Actually, I know _exactly_ how she felt. I saw it in her eyes," she said as she turned back into Lilliana. "It was so sad, William. You abandoned me, and although I understood why you and Grell did it, I felt so hurt how quickly you two turned on me and saw me as a monster. I thought you and I had something between us, but you would rather keep your reputation than be with me."

"That's not true. . . . I wouldn't . . . ,"

"You were being promoted to supervisor when I came back and had to keep a front that Upper Management would approve. I just wish I wasn't the sacrifice needed."

"Lilliana . . . ," he said in a genuine sad tone. He had no idea how she felt that entire time. When she joined their ranks, she kept her distance from them as they did with her. She didn't try to rekindle the friendship they had, but Grell was quick to call her the monster and shun her. Was he worse by not defending her? The most he did was tell Grell to hide his bias in front of others since she is one of them now. She didn't seem heartbroken, but she was clearly annoyed, if not angered, by their presence, even refusing to live in the Shinigami Realm and lived on her own in the human world. Upper Management didn't like that and told him to track her down and bring her back before they had to rehabilitate her again. That's when she found additional employment. "I'm sorry."

"For what, exactly?"

"For pushing you away all this time, but it was part of the job. We keep emotions out of our work to cause little trouble as possible. I was just so blind by that notion that I failed to see what it was doing to you."

"William," she said as she kissed him and he embraced her. However, he came to his senses quickly, remembering where he was and what he was doing. More importantly, he remembered who she was and pushed her away forcefully. "My, my, you were so caught up in your feelings that you neglected reality for a bit. I must be a good actress," Eris said with a smirk.

"You vile beast! Your kind is known for manipulating others to get what you want! It's no wonder that Lilliana cannot stand you, especially after what you did," he said, his anger finally showing its true form.

"Oh, right, her anger. Well, despite it being easily displayed, all that rage was genuine. She really wanted to kill me for having you first. Dare I say, she didn't want anyone to have you?"

"Enough of your lies!"

"But I'm not lying. Why else would she be so angry at me if it wasn't jealousy?"

"What would she have to be jealous of?" he asked with a little pain in his voice.

Eris sensed this and dropped her playful teasing tone as she continued, "Well, she's envies of a lot of people, actually. She envies demons for their freedom, yet envies other Grim Reapers for being accepted by each other. She envies Sebastian for being able to leave his duties once the contract is complete. But most of all, she was jealous of anyone who was close to the first man she developed feelings for. She secretly wants to have you back, but sadly, you would never see her the same way ever again, or at least, not until now, I hope."

"You really expect me to believe that Lilliana lusts for me?"

"Non, not lust; it's the same exact feelings as you. She knows her relationship with Sebastian won't last, so she claims to not grow attached to him, but you and I both know that's not exactly true. Though, she's trying to accept that she'll be parted from him once the contract ends, she will eventually need a shoulder to cry on. I just hope that shoulder will be yours."

"These words you spout are nothing more than elaborate stories designed to sway me into a false mentality. I won't fall for it," he said as he pushed his glasses back.

She sighed. "I tried my best, but both of you are as stubborn as ever," she said as she changed back into her normal appearance. "Just keep my words in your thoughts, oui?"

"I'd rather not," he said as headed towards to the door. He swung it open, but was surprised to see Katia fall on the ground, away from the door. "Ms. Vendoa, what are you—?"

However, she couldn't let him finish his question as she quickly got up and started running away from him, with tears in her eyes. "I'm sorry!"

"Huh, I was mistaken. Apparently Reapers _can_ be sneaky."

* * *

 ** _How will Grell and Lilliana's fight play out? How does William truly feel? What did Katia see/hear? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	9. Serene Bliss

Once the collection was done, the three Reapers returned to HQ with only less than an hour left in their shift. Katia agreed to do the paperwork regarding the two lost souls since it was her choice to not to pursue them, which neither Ronald nor William argued. However, she and William didn't talk once since he caught her, but he was concerned what she saw. He planned to convince his way out of any possible scandal, but also hoped she wouldn't say anything if he couldn't. He would never threaten her to keep her silence, but hoped that she was good-natured enough to realize that his reputation and even job would be at stake if she ever told anyone. He feared two possible rumors: either he was colluding with a demon or he lusted for Lilliana. Either one would ruin him, but one would also ruin Lilliana. He could imagine the dip in her already tarnished reputation and it could all be his fault. He had to do whatever it took to protect the both of them, meaning he had to talk to Katia to solve this dilemma.

When they arrived to their offices, they were the only ones there, mainly because there weren't as many Reapers during the night shift compared to the day shift and the ones that are assigned were already out collecting souls. Katia immediately walked to her desk to fill out her paperwork, still not saying a word. William was about to walk to his office, but stopped when he saw Ronald trying to clock out. "And what exactly are you doing, Mr. Knox?"

"Oh, well, as you know, my shift is about to end and I promised a couple of ladies that I would meet them after work for—," he tried to explain, not expecting to get caught.

"You really thought you could escape the mandatory paperwork needed for this collection so easily? Quite disappointing. Just for that, you have to do _all_ the remaining paperwork," William said as he pushed his glasses back.

"You can't be serious, Mr. Spears! Do you realize how long that will take?" Ronald whined.

"Then I guess you should get to it." Ronald pouted, but didn't argue further. There was no way he could change his superior's mind, especially when Ronald was in the wrong. William let out a sigh before trying yet again to walk to his office, but was interrupted when he heard the front door slam open. All three Reapers looked and saw Grell rushing in, covered in cuts and blood. He carried his precious coat in his arms and for the most part, besides some blood, the coat seemed to be unharmed. However, Katia was very concerned; she viewed Grell as her best friend since he let her move with him while she stayed here. According to him, it would be indecent for a woman to room with men. Luckily for Grell, she viewed him as a woman, making him very happy, and now they're genuine friends.

"Grell! What happened?" Katia said as she got up from her desk and ran to Grell, but he quickly ran behind William.

"She's crazy, I tell you! She seriously tried to kill me for no reason! Please protect me, William darling," Grell said with genuine fear in his voice. Usually William would ignore his pleas, especially when he used pet names, but the battle wounds were something he couldn't ignore.

"Who are you talking about?" Ronald asked as he walked to them. However, their question was quickly answered as they heard the sound of heels clicking reaching the room. They turned to the door, which was still open, and saw Lilliana walk in with a huge smile on her face and seemed to be free of any battle wounds, but there was blood on her clothes, presumably from Grell. Most notably was a large line of blood on her white shirt while she held onto her vest in her arms. She giggled like a little girl as she saw the group staring back at her with confused looks on her face.

"Oh hello dearies! I thought you all had the day shift. What are you doing here so late?" she asked in a jovial tone and her voice was a higher pitch than usual.

"Don't trust that happy demeanor! It's more terrifying than her anger," Grell warned the rest.

"Aw, why do you have to say such things, my dear friend? I just wanted to tell you that I am truly appreciative of your help in releasing my anger. I _really_ needed it."

"She just addressed Grell as her friend. This can't be the real Lilliana," Ronald commented.

She turned to him and said, "Oh, I'm the real Lilliana. Trust me. If you don't believe me, I can do whatever paperwork you might be working on. I'm sure you'll have a lot if you're assigned to the night shift."

"All right, who are you and what have you done with the real Lilliana? . . . But I'll take that offer," he said as he quickly left their side to clock out. "See you all tomorrow," he said as he left, making William angry, but he'll lecture him another time.

"And Grell, I'm so sorry for leaving marks on you. I should have held back more, but I couldn't control my anger. I'll even escort you to the hospital to treat your wounds."

"She's actually apologizing to Grell? What has happened to her?" Katia said with concern in her voice.

"Oh, my dear Katia. I didn't mean to worry you. How about the two of us spend more time together the next time I have time off. How does that sound?" Katia blushed at the thought; did she just suggest that they should go on a date or something of the sort? She couldn't even form a syllable and her tongue tied when she did try to say something. Lilliana smiled. "I'll take that as a yes."

"Ms. Kiliamo, please report to my office. Mr. Sutcliff, please stay out here. I need to evaluate her behavior and I'll need your input once I'm done. In the meantime, you could work on the paperwork regarding your mission," William said.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly do something as strenuous as paperwork. I'm far too injured," Grell said dramatically as he placed the back of his hand on his forehead. "Perhaps if I was nursed by a handsome gentleman, I might feel better sooner."

"Sutcliff, we don't have time for this."

"I can get a first aid kit and clean up your wounds best I can," Katia said as she left their side to find a kit.

Grell sighed. "I suppose that is the next best thing."

William let out a sigh of relief, but looked back at Lilliana, who still kept that happy smile plastered on her face, as if she couldn't express any other emotion. Grell was right; this was more disturbing than when she was angry, especially since this was the first time they saw each other since the Eris incident. He finally opened the door to his office and invited her in. She walked in and sat on his desk rather than the chair provided, which made him have flashbacks of Grell doing the same. She threw her vest onto the chair, so her arms would be free. He sat in his chair behind the desk and asked, "I shouldn't have to ask, but after everything we've been through, I have to: you are the real Lilliana Kiliamo, correct?"

"Of course, Will. How could a demon enter the Shinigami Realm, especially a bitch like her?" she asked, never dropping that jovial tone. "I told you, the next time I see her, I'm going to rip her to pieces."

"Right. I just had to make sure. You can never be too careful. Now, since that is out of the way, explain your behavior."

"Well, Eris slipped a certain spice in her chocolate that made me so angry so easily. Anytime I felt a twinge of wrath, it would blow it out of proportions and I would lash out."

"A spice? That shouldn't affect Reapers—,"

"They can if they are demonic spices," she explained. However, he could see that her happy demeanor was slowly fading and he could see pain in her eyes. It was as if a drug was losing its effect on her and she was slowly regaining herself. She even got off his desk and just stood as she continued, "There are these things called Sinful Spices that forces the consumer to act on whatever sin the spice controls. I had the Wrathful Spice, so my anger took over more than I could control."

"Well, that clears the air about your emotions. Does it still have power over you?"

"No. It turns out that in order to release its power, you have to exhaust it out of your system. For me, that was fighting Grell nearly to the death. Once the spice was gone, I felt euphoric and nothing could bring me down other than time," she said as her smile finally formed a frown and lost all signs of cheeriness in her demeanor. In fact, she looked down and didn't look him in the eye. She even placed her arms on her torso where a majority of the blood was. "And now, I just feel numb."

"I'm sorry you had to go through that, but I'm glad that it's all over. Would you mind sending Grell in so I can—,"

"That's just like you. Never caring about how other people feel," she said as she clenched her fists tightly. Her voice was shaky and it concerned William, fearing that she would go another round of fighting. "No, what's more important is making sure that _your_ reputation doesn't get tarnished in any way, right? It doesn't matter who gets hurt in the process."

"I don't understand what you mean—," he tried to say, but noticed tears falling down her cheeks. "Lilliana?"

"You know, as much as I hate her, I wish that you had her power so you know how people feel since apparently, not all Reapers are as emotionless as you," she said as she finally looked him in the eye. It was truly a sorrowful sight. It had been a century since he last saw her cry and she was not the type to cry so easily. She was truly hurting. "If you don't mind, I'm going to take the rest of the night off. If Grell decides to not do the paperwork, I'll have it done tomorrow, but don't tell him that. The last thing I want is for you to look bad to the Head Reapers," she said bitterly. She put her arms to the side and he saw that they were covered in blood, as if she was bleeding herself.

"And what about Knox's work you had promised to do?"

"Same as the rest, but I believe that you or Katia could take care of that," she said as she grabbed her vest from the chair, opened the door to his office, and headed out without saying a word to anyone else.

Grell and Katia, who had been curious what she had to say, were listening fairly close to the door. However, when Lilliana opened the door, they made sure to keep enough distance to not get caught for eavesdropping. Katia wanted to talk to her, noticing her shift in behavior, but was too late. Grell, on the other hand, was happy that he could possibly get out of doing the tedious paperwork. "Ms. Vendoa, Mr. Sutcliff, report to my office," William ordered.

"Happily~," Grell replied as they entered. She closed the door behind him and he took his usual seat on William's desk while she sat in the chair. "Now, could you tell us why she was acting so crazy?"

"It was not in her control. I failed to mention this to either one of you before today, but she and I happened to be investigating the same circus for different missions," he said as he pushed his glasses back.

"I figured that one out when I saw those Cinematic Records. She even said there was a succubus who paraded as her and tried to mess with you," Grell said with a jealous tone.

"Wait what? Is it true?" Katia asked in genuine surprise.

William sighed. "Unfortunately. Ms. Kiliamo and I were constantly at each other's throats due to her trickery."

"If she ever dares cross my path, I'll make sure to kill her for touching you, my dear William," Grell said as he tried to lean in for a kiss, but William got up from his chair before he could.

"I believe Ms. Kiliamo feels the same way," he said absentmindedly.

"Wait, Lily wants to kill her for getting close to you?" Katia asked.

His eyes open widely at the implication of his words. "No, no, no. I meant she wants to kill her because she made a fool out of her, especially since she pretended to be her," William explained. The explanation seemed to be enough for Grell, but not so much for Katia. "Now, let's get back to the original issue here. She told me that she was poisoned by the succubus—,"

"Poppycock! Nothing should poison beings of Death or even have an effect on us," Grell said as he crossed his arms.

"That's true for human-made drugs, but demonic elixirs and ingredients can. Being in my line of work, I've learned what some of those things can do," Katia explained.

"Have you heard of Sinful Spices?" William asked.

"Yeah, they're spices that make the consumer act on a certain sin . . . you're not saying that Lilliana accidentally ate something with that spice in it, are you?"

"That is what she told me. Apparently if she is even slightly annoyed, the spice will amplify her anger to the point of wanting to hurt a fellow colleague. Sutcliff, tell me what happened before you two fought each other."

"Well, like I said earlier: we were looking through Cinematic Records and in one of them, apparently my dear Bassy was . . . close with one of the performers," Grell said with a bit of bitterness in the end. "I guess she was jealous that she didn't have as tight of a grip on him as she thought and not long after that, she wanted to kill me." William couldn't help, but feel a twinge of jealousy himself. He knew of their relationship and how shallow it looked with Sebastian using her. However, he didn't expect her to get angry at him for sleeping around with other girls. He didn't need Grell to be explicit to know what he meant, unfortunately. So why was he getting jealous? "Are you all right, darling?"

William shook his head subtly to return to reality. "Yes, I'm fine. I was just lost in thought for a second. There's nothing else I would like to ask, so you're excused Sutcliff. I expect you to do the paperwork on your mission before you leave tonight."

"What? But Lilliana said—," Grell said, forgetting that he was supposed to not let him know they were eavesdropping.

"I don't care what you heard. Since you were recently released from probation, it would make sense for you to do majority of the paperwork. Besides, five souls are nothing compared to the nearly a hundred souls that the three of us collected."

"Aw, such a meanie, as always. Making me work despite my injuries."

"But your injuries don't appear to be as deep as we initially thought. You suffered from just a few deep cuts. Where did the majority of the blood come from?" Katia asked.

"Well, I _may_ have sliced her with my Death Scythe in self-defense," Grell explained, making the two other Reapers worried. "What? She looked fine. In fact, I only escaped because she needed to change her shirt and put bandages over her wound."

"It's scary how much she didn't show any sign she was injured," Katia said. "And she's just going to head back to the manor and act like nothing happened."

"I'm sure she'll be fine. If she didn't, she would have shown it to us," Will said.

"I guess so."

"Now, Sutcliff, get to the paperwork."

"Oh, and what are you going to do if I don't~?" Grell teased.

"You'll be further demoted and may lose that Death Scythe you've grown fond of."

"No, not my baby! Fine, I'll do it," he said as he rushed out of the office to get started. The last thing he wanted was to lose his chainsaw especially when he just got it back.

She got up from the chair and was about to return to her desk, but William stopped her. "I believe that you and I need to have a discussion before you return."

She sighed. "I figured we would eventually." She sat back down on the chair, not wanting to look him in the eyes.

"I wanted to apologize for scaring you earlier during our collection. I didn't mean to," he said. He didn't want to admit to talking with Eris, especially if she saw everything. If there was a chance that she only saw the end of their conversation, it was possible he could get away with not confessing.

"I know."

"But I must ask what you saw before I opened the door. I'm sure you have some questions."

"Um, well . . . I just never thought I would see you interacting with a demon, especially one that interfered with our mission."

"It wasn't like I had a choice. She planned on seducing you, but when I confronted her, she recognized me from the circus and shifted her focus."

"She was going to seduce me? How?"

"By taking the form of the person you desire, obviously," he said, not wanting to explicitly say that he knew about her crush on Lilliana. Hell, everyone knows, if not wondered about it. She wasn't good about hiding her feelings.

"Oh," Katia said, blushing a bit. "But if that's the case, why didn't you fight her?"

"Well, a confrontation with a demon is a tricky ordeal. As skilled as I am in combat, I don't believe I would be able to fight her as easily as you can. Besides, I did not want to jeopardize the mission and your and Knox's safety. We were lucky that she didn't intend to fight."

"Yeah, we were lucky," she repeated, still not looking him in the eye.

"But that succubus is no longer our concern anymore. We shall hopefully never see her again."

"Right," she said as she got up from the chair. "Well, I'm glad you explained this to me. I'll get back to the paperwork. If you like, I can write up as much as I can so you don't have to do the bulk of it."

"I would much appreciate it." Katia put on a smile before leaving his office and closing the door. However, she instantly lost the smile when she headed to her desk. She didn't think William could lie, but there he was: pretending like what he and Eris shared didn't happen. She saw them talk almost from the very beginning. She knew that it wasn't the real Lilliana he was talking to, but the emotions he felt were. She took the form of the one he desired, which was bad news for Katia. Yet another person she had to worry about regarding Lilliana's love life. If only she could see Katia the same way as she did. Maybe it's time that she told her the truth and let her know before things get more complicated.

* * *

Bastille watched from afar as the manor burned to the ground, not catching fire to the surrounding forest. He had been waiting for Eris, but she was taking a long time. The Reapers even finished their collection and were heading back to the Shinigami Realm. Whatever her unfinished business was, it was taking her longer than expected. Though, it gave him some time to figure out what their next move was. Now that they were free from their contracts, they were free to do whatever they wanted, but he always had one thing to consider: he wanted to stay in England so he could be close to his sister. However, knowing Eris, she might want to return to her homeland in France and would want him to join her. It's been a while since he went back to his native country as well, but the thought of being separated from Lily further was something he dreaded. She's the only family he has, not including being adopted by Lucifer. He had a strong need to protect his little sister who had gone through so much, but can't remember the trauma, thankfully.

Suddenly, Bastille heard a carriage pull up behind him and he quickly hid in the surrounding forest, hoping whoever it was didn't see him. With a careful eye, he saw a black carriage pulled by two black horses and the driver was fitting for the dark image: a man with long black robes, unusual black hat, and long grey hair that covered his eyes. He noticed that the man stopped the carriage when he got a good view of the burning manor and he started to giggle at nothing. "My lord, what did I tell you? You should take care of your soul. You only get the one," he said to himself as he bit into a bone-shaped biscuit and held onto his mourning jewelry tied around his waist.

Bastille hoped the man would quickly leave, but was shocked to see who appeared to be Lilliana wearing a purple dress approaching the man casually. Even with grey hair covering his eyes, Bastille could tell something was off when the man grinned at the sight of her. His protective instincts took over and he rushed out of his hiding spot, revealing himself, to get close to her, but when she turned around, he noticed the purple eyes and immediately stopped in his tracks. "There you are, my love. I was wondering where you were," Eris said.

"I . . . should have expected it was you. Lily doesn't wear dresses willingly," Bastille said as he smacked his face with his hand, feeling like an idiot.

"Well she has come out of her shell recently regarding fashion," she said as she changed into her usual form. "You should have seen her costume for the circus."

"I'd rather not," he said. "Also, what were you doing in her form anyway?"

"A lady doesn't reveal all her secrets," she said with a smirk, knowing that the curiosity would upset him. He finally got a closer look at the man, who didn't lose his grin despite his sudden appearance. In fact, it seemed to get bigger, like he was happy to reunite with an old friend.

"You're quite the bold woman changing your appearance in front of a human," Bastille said.

"He-he, far from that, Bastille Kilia," the man said in a tone that was somehow both friendly and threatening.

"Wait, how do you know my—?"

"I have yet to introduce you to a dear friend of mine. Humans and Lilliana call him 'the Undertaker', but to deities like us, he is known as the legendary Reaper, Adrian Crevan," she said. Undertaker tipped his hat before climbing down from the driver's seat of the carriage, making sure to leave his hat on the seat.

" _T-T-The_ legendary Grim Reaper?! What business do you have being friends with a Reaper?!" Bastille practically yelled out of shock and a bit of jealousy. How _dear_ of a friend was he to her?

"Funny, coming from the brother of one," she commented.

"Now, now, you two. There's no need to be arguing at a time like this," Undertaker said as he approached them. "We don't want to dissuade him from our plan just because of bickering partners."

"Plan? Eris, what is he talking about?"

"Well, it was hard to track you down, but when I learned that the Baron needed prosthetics for his children, I had to introduce that foolish Doc to that disturbed man so that we would have the opportunity to be together and we could possibly recruit you," she said, not really answering his question.

"Recruiting me? For what?"

"A plan to end the feud between demons and Grim Reapers once and for all," Undertaker said, losing his jovial tone. Bastille looked at him, speechless by what he had to say. Adrian pushed his bangs away so Bastille could clearly see his eyes that showed no sign of lies. "There are very few deities that believe that demons and Reapers could ever get along. The majority of them are right here before you and probably your sister, if she wasn't trapped by the infernal Reaper Association."

"Infernal? But you're a Reaper: you're supposed to have high respect for your Association."

"I used to, dear boy, but that all changed when I met Lilliana Kiliamo. You have no idea the tortures they put her through so she could be like us. Half a century of torture! They broke her mind in ways she could probably never fully recover from."

"It seems that tragedy always follows her," Eris said as her right eye turned green.

"Wh-What kind of torture?" Bastille asked, afraid of the answer.

"I'd rather not say. Let's just say that they nearly succeeded in brainwashing her, but they failed and nearly gave up on her. There was even talk of her termination before I came along," Undertaker said, observing Bastille's face and noticing how the word 'termination' seemed to crush him emotionally. "But I asked to be part of her rehabilitation and I only gained approval because of my status. When I first met her, she was no different than a feral demon: wanting to destroy the Association and kill everyone in it."

"If she was tortured like you said, then I can understand why."

"Though, I must admit, I was already having my doubts about the 'good nature' of the Reaper Association decades before. Living in this world for as long as I have, I have grown quite bored of the mundane collection cycle. Plus, I have developed different types of relationships with all creatures, both human and inhuman. Most notably, I have become good friends with Lucifer. He makes a perfect sparring partner."

"Wait what?! You and Lucifer?!"

"Sure, 'good friend'," Eris commented with her fingers making air quotes as her right eye changing red and her left turning green. "You two have an interesting relationship, that's for sure."

He giggled. "Nothing gets past you, Eris."

"Moving on!" Bastille said, not wanting to hear any further regarding this topic.

"Right. Where was I? Ah, yes. As you know, there are laws, or I should say, _guidelines_ , that prohibit demon and Reaper interactions and it was becoming quite bothersome. Just simply speaking with one casually was enough to get you in trouble with the Head Reapers. I considered retiring for so long to avoid the scrutiny, but your sister was the final straw I needed to go through with it. I have always resented how Reapers treated demons, but it was the most evident when they handled Lilliana. They'd rather wipe her entire demon existence and have her be a slave than keep her demon instincts and have her free will intact. With my help, she was able to become the woman she is now, but despite doing everything they wanted, they still label her as a Rogue Reaper and will never give her the same respect as any other Reaper."

"And to think, they thought _demons_ were corrupting her by trying to make her one of us," Bastille said with a clenched fist. "All I want is to be together with my sister again. Is that too much to ask? It's just unfair. As far as I know, we are the only siblings in existence to be different deities, but we died with different circumstance: she killed herself and I gained Lucifer's favor. Imagine if we both killed ourselves. Would they erase our family ties?"

"Sadly, they do," Adrian said as he lowered his eyes. "I have observed many human families turning to the tragic end out of depravity, but once they become Reapers, they are separated and even assigned to different countries."

"That's terrible!"

"But you have to understand that nothing can get in the way of objectivity when collecting souls," Eris said. "They'll denounce all emotions, even lust, if they fear it getting in the way of their work."

"Precisely why I had to leave," Adrian said. "I had grown too curious for my own good. It was either that or possible termination."

"Still, I must say thank you for saving Lily. You're her savior," Bastille said with a bow.

"He-he, I wouldn't say 'savior'. I'm more like a mentor to her. Even a close friend."

"Her only friend, arguably," Eris said. "Well, minus the American recruit, but their friendship is complicated."

"You mean Katia Vendoa? The demon huntress?" Bastille asked.

"Oui! You've met her?"

"Not formally, but every high-ranking demon knows of her and her incredible skill. Even sons of Lucifer have been killed by her. Besides, if I ever got close to Lilliana, she sometimes surprised her to just chat."

"Did you know our little American girl is in love with your sister?"

"What?!"

"But that's not important. What _is_ important is that we want you to join our effort into stopping the feud once and for all. I'm sure you would sympathize with our mission," she said.

"And how exactly do you plan on doing that? You can't just go to Lucifer or the Head Reapers and tell them to stop the bloodshed. The prejudices are too ingrained."

"Actually, Lucifer is one of the few who agreed with us far longer than we initiated this plan," Adrian said with a grin on his face. Even after knowing he could trust him, Bastille found his grin unsettling.

"It's just the other demons who only know of the Reaper's cruelty that hold the prejudice. I'd argue you are one of those demons," Eris said as she looked at him and her eye turned back purple.

"Regardless, it's not going to be simple," Bastille said.

"You have to understand that the only reason why there is bloodshed between us is because of human souls," Undertaker said. "Demons must feed off the souls that Reapers collect, which causes conflict. Even angels, who Reapers don't have favorable attitudes toward either, only take the purest of souls by their standards, but demons devour any type of soul. It seems the only way for the two to get along is to create a new food source for demons."

"Well not all demons can feed off sins like Eris can. We rely on human souls. Even Lucifer."

"True, but what if there was a way to create artificial souls that would satisfy the hunger of demons while keeping human souls safe for collection?"

"That's impossible. Many humans and demons have tried to create artificial humans and failed or created incomplete copies. What makes you think you'll be one to actually succeed?"

"Well, those previous attempts were creating artificial humans from either raw materials or long dead corpses. What they were missing is the importance of the soul: the true life force of a human. As a Grim Reaper, I have always been curious about a soul if it was ever given a second chance at life. Would they continue living their lives or be something completely new? While my tinkering has not been perfected, it has produced _some_ results."

"Wait, tinkering? With souls?"

"We wouldn't try to recruit you if we didn't have any progress in our plan," Eris said. "Besides, he's careful. His method makes it so that the souls can be collected while also making his creation come back to life."

"He's . . . You're both mad! You created a second life?!"

"Yes and if our plan is successful, it'll be just enough to stop the feud once and for all. So, I ask you: will you join us?"

Bastille looked at the duo for a while, contemplating his answer. These two must be insane; there's no way they could recreate life! But if they did, this could be the thing to release Lilliana from her tight bonds and they could be the close siblings they once were centuries ago. "I need to see it for myself before I make a decision."

"Fair enough. I'll take you there right now, if you'd like," Undertaker said as he left their side and climbed back to the driver's seat. He put on his hat and his hair once again covered his eyes.

Eris looked at Bastille and said, "You were wondering what our next move should be. I hope this is it."

* * *

Lilliana arrived to the townhouse not too long after she left Headquarters. She figured that Ciel wouldn't want to return to the manor immediately after finishing a mission. Besides, it gave the servants enough time to clean the manor before they arrived. She climbed up to a second-story window, but had some difficulty now that she felt the full pain of her injury. It took a good amount of her strength to not make any noises, especially grunts of pain as she pulled herself up. As she reached the window, she dreaded pushing up the glass, but to her surprise, it seemed to lift on its own. Next thing she knew, a gloved hand reached out towards her. "It was about time you showed up," Sebastian said, but his usual grin whenever she came home wasn't on his face, which surprised her. She took his hand, but as he pulled her in, she let out a grunt, which alarmed him. "Is something wrong?"

"N-No. It's just stiff muscles from work," she tried to lie, but even she could smell the blood from her wound and her eyes turned red.

"You've been quite secretive lately. First, you won't tell me about your mission and now you're keeping injuries from me. I'm hurt," he said as he quickly left the room to get some bandages and items needed to clean her wound. She sighed as she removed her vest, not wanting to admit the full truth just yet, but her wound was too distinct to say it was nothing. It was clearly a chainsaw's doing and only one person they knew wielded one. She looked in the mirror and noticed that blood was slowly leaking onto her top and quickly checked to see if any got on her vest. Luckily, there wasn't much, but her white top would need a serious cleaning if she wanted it to look as it was before.

"Why couldn't I just control it a little longer?" she mumbled to herself, slowly unbuttoning her shirt to reveal the bloodstained bandages underneath.

Shortly, Sebastian came back with the materials he needed and she sat on the bed with her open shirt. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened or am I going to force it out of you?" His serious tone was intimidating to her since he never used it unless he was fed up with someone and wanted to possibly kill them.

She looked down as she said, "It was an injury at work. There's no lie there."

"Then tell me _exactly_ how you got injured," he said as he put a rag in a small bowl of water. He then helped her take off her bandages, finally revealing the nasty wound that would have left any human dead. "And to think, you were playing this off as something trivial."

"I didn't want to worry you. Besides, that would mean I would have to tell you who I worked with."

"It was Grell Sutcliff, wasn't it?" She looked at him with shock, confirming it. He then continued, "Lie on your back."

"H-How do you know?" she asked as she complied.

"I had an encounter with Eris when we disposed of the Baron Kelvin. She was contracted to Doc, but he didn't take good care of her and she was starved," he said as he wiped the blood off of her stomach. He was reminded of when they first met Grell and when he sliced Sebastian's torso with his chainsaw. She cleaned his wounds as well, but her bloodlust couldn't be controlled and, with permission, she licked his wound clean. Though, he had self-control and didn't plan on doing the same thing.

"I'm glad I wasn't there. Knowing her, she would try to infuriate me some more until I couldn't control my anger."

"Clearly you couldn't without her help," he commented as he kept wiping the blood away.

She scowled at him, but sighed. "Yeah, I got furious after looking through Beast's Cinematic Record and he was the only victim around to fight. Though, he didn't hold back at all and landed a blow on me. I didn't feel the pain until now since I was under a lot of adrenaline and a euphoric high soon after."

"What could you have possibly seen to make you feel so angry?" he asked as he finished cleaning and put the blood-soaked rag in the bowl of water.

She looked sternly at him and said, "You, actually." He was confused, but soon realized what she saw. "I didn't realize _that_ was how you got your information." They were both relieved that she exhausted the spice from her body so she could remain calm.

"Our young master wanted the information by morning, but your superior wouldn't let me leave the premises. I wanted to ask you to retrieve the information, but you were already busy with work."

"And that somehow gives you an excuse to sleep around for information?" she said with bitterness in her voice. He sighed and quickly reached for the clean bandages.

"I wouldn't have if I wasn't limited in choices. Besides, that's not the only information I learned the past couple of days," he said as he started wrapping the bandages around her. "First of all, I think it's important that I told you that your brother was contracted to the Baron."

"Bastille? I wouldn't think he would be in the type to make contracts with random contract seekers."

"I have a theory why he did this time," he said before finishing the wrapping and taping the end. "The Baron had a disturbed obsession with the young lord and vowed to do anything to have him. Knowing that this was his goal, he figured that there would be a fated meeting between the two nobles and he was right, but sadly, you weren't there."

"I'm sad I didn't get to see him, but that would mean that I would have to deal with Eris again and I never want to see her again."

"About that: she gave a clear hint to who she was after."

"And that would be?" she asked, dreading the answer, but not showing it.

"She said it was someone that Bastille never met, but the young lord and I have. Now, I'm sure he's met the first-tier performers at least once since he started working with them. Besides them, we didn't know any of the other performers that well except . . . ,"

"Are you trying to say that she was after William?" Lilliana asked, feigning surprise, though not well.

"It seems like it by that description. It's hard to believe, but who else could it be?" Sebastian asked, clenching his fist.

"That's impossible. Grim Reapers suppress all emotion for the job and he especially has mastered that skill."

"You and I both know very well that a succubus can and will find hidden desires that her victim might not be aware of. No matter how well-hidden his emotions may be, there is no denying there is some desire for you if she used your form to feed off of him."

She was silent. Of course she knew this and found out in the worst way, but she didn't think Sebastian would put the pieces together. Even when she wasn't there, Eris still found a way to mess with her and the people around her. She was clearly upset, but her eyes remained green, indicating she wasn't angry. "I don't know what to think about that. Is it possible that he only lusted for me while wearing that provocative outfit?" she asked, trying to find an excuse.

"I highly doubt that. She took your form before you arrived and I doubt she wore the outfit before we arrived." There was no getting around it. "Now it worries me how often you two were alone with each other, even if it was arguing."

"Are you . . . jealous of William?" Lilliana said, almost teasingly. "I never thought I would see the day."

"I could say the same for you," he said before pinning her to the bed, making her shriek. Her open shirt widened and her breasts were slightly exposed as he got on top of her. "And to be clear, I'm not jealous; I'm protective of what's mine. I'm not going to let anyone take you away from me."

"Still sounds like you're jealous," she said, now fully teasing.

"Oh really? I might have to punish you for talking back," he said as he bit her neck, drawing blood. She let out a yelp, but as he licked the blood off her neck, she started to moan. "I need to assert my dominance and prove who owns you."

"Isn't the mark enough?" she asked before she felt his hands cup her breasts and soon, his fingers pinching her nipples.

"Is it enough?" he asked, knowing what her answer will be. He then slid his hand down her pants and teased her through her panties.

In between moans, she said, "N-No."

"No . . . ?"

"N-No, Sir," she corrected herself.

"Good girl," he growled in her ear. He then started removing his tailcoat and unbuttoning his vest. "We never got the chance to finish what we started at the circus."

"I know, but are you seriously going to finish now when I'm injured?" Lilliana said, but her words didn't match her actions as she got up to unzip his pants.

"I'll make sure to be gentle," he said as he removed her shirt, fully exposing her chest. "Besides, I have read that the female orgasm makes a great muscle relaxer." He glanced at her bandages, relieved there isn't any fresh blood on it yet. He then helped her out of her slacks and she soon did the same for him. Once his cock was exposed, she wasted no time in sucking him off, making him moan. She was not holding back as she was bobbled her head back and forth rather quickly and sucking as much as she could comfortably. He gripped her hair tightly as he let her take control and felt no need to take it back. Once in a while, she would pull back and swirl her tongue around the tip while looking him in the eye, watching him lose his composure, even for just a moment. That was the part she absolutely _loved_ : when he made it clear that what she was doing was pleasurable for him. Demons are rather hard to please, especially in the bedroom, but she must be his exception if he is willing to come back to her for more and even mark her. She was his to play with and she was fine with that relationship. That was all she needed.

However, as he moaned more and more, she had a flashback to William and how Eris did this to him. This was not the time to think about it, but she couldn't help it. What did he think as Eris, or Lilliana in his mind, was sucking him off and telling him to do all these naughty things to her? How obliging was he to her desires? Would he be able to do it willingly if she ever asked to do the same thing in the future? Wait, why would she ask? They want to move passed this awkward moment, but she can't. Why?

Though, her questions had to be answered at another time since he pulled back from her mouth and gently pushed her back and positioned himself on top of her. "You're mine and mine alone, understand?" he asked as he inserted himself inside her pussy. She bit his shoulder so her moans wouldn't be too loud. They may have their own room, but the walls were thin enough to be heard. He made sure to keep a slow pace as he fucked her, but he fully pulled out and back in so she would be able to feel all of him, which was just as effective as fucking her roughly. He made sure to keep a close eye on her bandages and if there was any sign of blood, he would stop. Though, the urge to fuck her roughly was strong. However, she didn't hold back in marking him as she dug her nails in his back and scratched him. As much of a sadist as he was, he liked the feeling of her nails, not because he was a masochist, but because it was a sign that he was pleasuring her enough for her to disregard being gentle with him. She was lost in her lust to think clearly.

"F-Fuck," she moaned out as he bit her again, not drawing blood, but leaving teeth marks over and over again on her neck and shoulders. She now didn't care about keeping quiet, which was his cue to fuck her harder so he could hear her more and more, but he had to make sure to keep the slow pace. However, she moved her hips to feel the full impact of his thrusts, moaning louder and louder with each thrust, which made him lose his gentle nature and give her what she wanted.

He rolled her over on the bed so he would be lying on his back and she was on top of him. After a quick check for blood, he thrusted his hips into her repeatedly in a fast pace. She bit her lip tightly, almost enough to draw blood, and dug her nails in his shoulders as he thrusted deeper and deeper in her. He made sure to keep his hands on her hips and spanking her once in a while, making her let out a high-pitched shriek. Despite leaving many marks on Sebastian, she was a masochist and loved to feel pain given by her dominant. "I don't need to use your mark to make you lust for me. You do it naturally and beg so well," he said as he played with on one of her nipples and pinching hard. He could feel her walls tightening around his cock, which was the clear sign she was about to cum, but he always liked to torture her just a little bit at her most desperate. He rubbed her clit with one hand and watched as her face distorted as she held back the urge to cum. "Would you like to cum?"

"Yes sir! Please let me cum," she begged, but he never ceased in his hard thrusts and she was fighting so hard to not release.

"I distinctly remember you disobeying me last time and cumming without permission. Perhaps I should make you suffer just a little longer," he said with the devilish smirk as he spanked her, making her shriek with desperation in her voice.

"D-Don't be cruel," she begged, trying to distract herself from the undeniable pleasure, but nothing could.

"Then are you going to be a good girl and cum only when I allow you?"

"Yes sir! I'll do whatever you wish. Just please let me cum," she said with a voice giving way.

He chuckled as he said, "Fine. You may cum."

"Thank you, sir," she said as she came hard on his cock, coating it with her juices, and she moaned loudly as she did. When she finished, she collapsed on him, breathing hard. "Apparently, my body can handle more than a gentle fuck," she said in a breath voice.

"Indeed you can," he said as he positioned her next to him. "But until you are fully healed, I don't want you doing anything strenuous, whether here or at your other employment."

"That's probably for the best," she said as she caught her breath.

"Also, now that you know how he feels for you, try to avoid being alone with your superior. I don't want him getting any ideas thanks to his aware desire."

She laughed. "I don't like being alone with a Reaper anyway, so nothing will change."

"I mean it," he said sternly.

She looked him in the eyes and said, "If you fear losing me, you're not going to. You marked me, remember? It's not going away until the contract is completed."

"And don't you forget it," Sebastian said as he gave her a quick kiss. "Because if he tries to get near you, I might not hold in my anger and might want to kill him."

"Easy there. No need to get yourself in trouble for my sake. Besides, I'll get in more trouble just by association."

"I'll make sure to dispose of him to send a message not to take what's mine."

"How about we don't do that and just live our lives like the whole Eris thing never happened. I think all of us will be a lot happier for it."

"Agreed. It never happened."

"Those are the happiest words I'll hear in a long time," she said as she closed her eyes and fell asleep, lost in her conflicting thoughts.

* * *

 _ **Will Katia keep quiet about what she knows? What is the plan to end the feud between demons and Reapers? How will this complicated love triangle/square goimg to play out? Reviews are appreciated!**_


	10. Fulfilling Their Many Duties

The next morning, Sebastian and Lilliana were putting their suitcases into the carriage, ready for a quick detour before heading back to the manor. Ciel was saying his quick farewells to Soma and Agni, hoping they wouldn't force him to stay a little longer, but luckily for Ciel, he never felt guilty about leaving them disappointed. In his opinion, these Indians were lucky they were able to stay in the townhouse while he wasn't there. Sebastian noticed that Lilliana had only little difficulty lifting heavy objects onto the carriage, which was relieving for the both of them since they couldn't give any sign that she was hurt to the young lord. He didn't like seeing weakness in his inhuman servants since that was a sign of vulnerability for him to his enemies. Though, they had to make sure to change her bandages frequent enough so no blood leaked onto her maid outfit.

Soon, they were headed to the train station and planned to get on one of the early trains. Ciel wanted to make sure that they returned to the manor before dark, so they had to be quick. Each party explained what had happened the night they were separated: the dead circus performers at the manor and the fulfilled contracts at the Kelvin Manor. They felt relief about not interacting with either Grell or Eris and were happy to put all this behind them. Once they arrived to the station, she purchased the tickets while Sebastian carried the not-so-heavy luggage and once she returned with the tickets, they headed to the platform for their scheduled train. While boarding, they saw a little brunette girl walking up to them with a basket in her arm. "Pardon me, sir. Care for an orange? It's nice and fresh! Only a penny each."

Ciel looked back at her with his usual cold look, which frightened her. However, he said, "Buy some from her."

"Thank you very much, good master!" she said in glee as Sebastian purchased two oranges. He handed one of them to Lilliana and she thanked him. "Bless you, sir. Best wishes to you three for a good journey," she said politely as she ran off to find a new customer.

"Well isn't she the cutest girl you've ever seen," Lilliana said as she entered the train, followed by Sebastian. Soon, they found their private cart and Sebastian put the luggage above them on a shelf while Ciel took his seat. "I apologize for sharing your compartment, my lord, but I'm afraid I was unable to purchase a third-class ticket on such short notice," she said as she sat down opposite of Ciel.

"Calm down, it's fine," he said as they felt the train start to slowly move. Sebastian made sure to take his seat before the train moved at full speed. However, they couldn't help, but notice their young master in deep thought as he stared out the window. Sebastian started peeling the orange he bought with a knife and cut them into even pieces. Lilliana tried to do the same with hers without a knife, but she didn't peel as gracefully as he did as juice splattered everywhere and giving off a citrus fragrance. She looked at them, noticed their disapproving faces, and quickly put the orange down with an innocent smile.

Sebastian sighed before saying, "My lord, I confess there is something I don't quite understand. Why are you so interest in visiting their old workhouse?"

Ciel looked surprised by his question and looked at Lilliana, who had the same curious look. "Their patron is no more. It can't possibly keep its doors open for much longer without one."

"Do you pity them?" Lilliana asked skeptically as Sebastian helped her peel her squished orange.

"Dealing with the aftermath is part of a Phantomhive's job. There's no need to sacrifice innocent children who cannot help themselves in our society."

"Then why did we burn the manor with the children inside?" Sebastian asked as he offered a slice to Ciel and he took it.

"I've seen enough to know how this sort of thing will play out. Once they end up like that, there's no returning to normal. They're too damaged."

"So you decided they were better off dead than living like that. How very arrogant, my lord," Lilliana said before eating a slice. "And that's coming from a Grim Reaper."

"How many humans have either of you met who aren't arrogant in some way?" Ciel said with a smirk.

Sebastian laughed. "Huh, none at all, my lord. Your assessment is spot on."

"Think about it for a moment: how much strength do you suppose it takes for somebody, especially somebody weak like a child, to recover from that kind of trauma? I know from experience. Moments before I had broken completely, I managed to summon you and with you came the strength that I needed to recover. I'm absolutely arrogant and I don't deny it. However, you see, I'm not arrogant enough to assume I can save those who are utterly lost."

"I think I understand, my lord," Sebastian said as he watched the two finish their oranges.

Soon, the train made it to their destination and the three of them journeyed to the workhouse. With the help of a man carrying his supplies to his farm, they managed to not fatigue the young lord. Though, he did seem confused why they would want to go to the workhouse, which made them suspicious. Though, a familiar tune was heard as two children, probably siblings, skipped down the road, singing the Tom, the Piper's Son song that haunts them to this day. "It seems to be a rather popular song these days," Lilliana commented, noticing the somber look on Ciel's face.

Soon, the man stopped his cart and pointed as he said, "Top o' the hill here's where you're headed."

"Thank you for your help," she said with a smile as Sebastian let Ciel down from the cart. Once he drove away, the three headed up the hill with high expectations for the place that those circus performers had sacrificed their lives and good name for. However, when they did finally reach the top, they were shocked by the sight: the workhouse was in ruins. No sign of children playing or even living in the building that was not only crumbling, but partially demolished. There were moss and vines growing on whatever refused to be torn down completely. They refused to believe this was the place, but the partially ruined sign was the same as the pictures they saw in the tents.

They ventured further into the place and Sebastian commented, "It shouldn't come as a surprise, but it appears Lord Kelvin was lying about the workhouse."

However, Lilliana was shocked. She never checked with the Records from the Kelvin Manor to know the truth, but she did see the desperation of the circus performers for this place. None of them wanted to kidnap children, but it was so that children from this place would be able to live and thrive. "It's completely deserted and dilapidated. I'd wager it's been like this for quite some time."

"Given what the doctor said, well, I doubt the orphans who were here met a pleasant end," Sebastian commented coldly.

Ciel walked to an open field that probably was used for the children to play and run around in and remained in shock. He remembered the last words Joker told him about this place: the Baron was their savior; without him, they would perish. How ironic that their savior would bring them their tragic deaths. It was enough to make Ciel start laughing maniacally, which alarmed his servants. This emotionless child never smiled, especially genuinely. "There was nothing this whole time! Everything that they were protecting . . . it was long gone, and they had no idea! What great fools they all were! They were so desperate to preserve this place. They even _died_ for it in the end! We humans are a breed apart, trampling each other like insects. We're cowardly, petty, small, and nasty! We're more demonic than demons are!" However, his laughing soon turned serious as he continued, "I'm just like them, don't you see? I'm full of it; the same ugliness within them courses through my veins. This is just how humans are. Do you understand, Sebastian, Lilliana? It's who we are!"

The two deities, still shocked by the display of emotion, soon smiled with the return of his cynical view of humanity. "Yes, my lord. You are less sophisticated as demons and Reapers, and yet the grudges you hold are more complex. Your compulsion to lie is unmatched. You struggle desperately your entire lives and carelessly trample those in your way. You steal and are stolen from all the same. You are hopeless and yet still you strive to get over the hill and far away," Sebastian stated.

"That's why humans are so interesting," Lilliana finished with a smile as she looked at him. He returned the smile and the three of them headed back to return to the manor.

* * *

"So, this is where you work. It looks . . . it fits you," Eris said reluctantly as she, Bastille, and Undertaker made their way to the funeral parlor. It had been a few days since the fateful meeting and their main goal was to secure Bastille into their mission. He had to admit that he still wasn't fully onboard with the whole idea, especially since he thought it was impossible for demons and Reapers to ever get along, but they seemed confident that it could work. In fact, the only reason why he finally agreed to join was to be close to Lilliana. As he got to know Undertaker more, he realized that he might be the only Reaper he could trust and was a genuine friend to his sister. He cared for her well-being and would do anything to make her happy, even supporting her second job as an escape from the scrutiny of the Association.

"I know it's not much, but it's home," Undertaker said as he unlocked the door and let them in. As they entered, they noticed the gloomy atmosphere along with the dusty furniture. They were just happy that there wasn't a corpse smell to greet them as well.

" _This_ is home?" Bastille said as he walked further in. He wanted to sit on one of the coffins, but there was so much dust on it that sitting on it would change the color of his pants. "You haven't been away for that long, have you?"

"No, but dusting has not been one of my favorite hobbies," Undertaker said with a giggle. "Besides, even being away for a few days accumulates a lot of dust in here."

"Then why don't you bring our work here? I'm sure you can manage your day job and that."

"I'm afraid there are some sharp eyes and minds in London that make it too dangerous to do so."

"Who are you afraid will find out?"

"I have three guesses," Eris said as she looked around for a duster, but couldn't find one. "Please tell me that you at least have something to clean up around here."

"You can check the broom closet, but I'm not sure," Undertaker said. She rolled her eyes and she did as instructed, leaving the two men alone. "Your sister, though I believe she would sympathize with us, may be too chained by that Association and if she ever found out, she might report it. If not her, then someone else in the Association might. Although it's rare, some Reapers do come to my shop when they are sloppy with their work."

"I see, but then why did you bring us here? I'm sure you interacting with two demons would be suspicious to anyone who cared," Bastille said with his arms crossed.

"Very true, but you and especially Eris can change your appearances to disguise yourselves. Even if it's as subtle as changing your eye color, they won't know."

"Mon amie, are you kidding me?" Eris said as she reentered the room with a broken duster. The handle was in two pieces and most of the feathers had wilted off. "How long has this been an issue?"

"Hmm, I haven't dusted since that fell apart," he said, never really answering the question.

She sighed. "Well, as a favor for letting us stay here for the meantime, I guess I could buy you a new duster, but _you_ will be the one dusting."

"That's only fair," Undertaker said with a smirk as he watched her head toward the door, but stopped her before she could open it. "Oh, just a little warning: you might want to change your appearance whenever you go outside the shop. I hate to see what would happen if a certain someone found you."

She looked at him confused, but realized who he was talking about. She did tell him _everything_ that happened at the circus regarding Lilliana, even the juicy ending. Adrian was not surprised with William, but was surprised by Lilliana's reaction. He wanted to dive in deeper, but they would have to cut their conversation short whenever Bastille entered the room. The last thing he wants to hear is the men who lusted for his sister. "Thanks for the tip," she said as her hair turned dirty blonde, her eyes turned brown, and her figure plumped a bit. Once her transformation was complete, she exited the shop and headed to the nearest store that sold cleaning supplies.

However, Eris was startled to see a carriage pull up close to the parlor and out came Lilliana, who was talking to someone inside, but she wasn't sure who exactly. "Don't forget the new silverware to replace the ones you keep stealing," she said as she was about to close the door to the carriage, but was interrupted. Soon, she blushed and said, "You really are a perverted man! Just do your job before the young lord gets mad at us. After that, _maybe_ I'll consider fulfilling your request." She closed the door and the carriage pulled away.

Eris made sure to keep her distance as she watched Lilliana enter the shop. The last thing she wanted was a heated battle with her, especially when she wasn't sure if the chocolates were exhausted from her. She wondered what a Grim Reaper would want from a mortician, but didn't need to ask. She figured she could kill some time and buy that feather duster, hoping Lilliana would be gone from the shop by the time she returned. If not, she feared she would have to improvise.

Inside, Lilliana called, "Undertaker, I have a favor to ask."

"He-he, well, if it isn't a familiar face; one that always brings a bright smile in my strange world," he said as he sat behind the desk. Luckily, Bastille was quick enough to hide himself in a coffin when he could hear her voice outside. "How long has it been since only you and I talked? Usually, you're with master butler and the young lord."

"Well, they're both busy getting everything ready for a dinner party. Apparently the Queen wants the young master to entertain a certain German guest as a test for loyalty. Speaking of which, that's why I'm here. I was wondering if you had any information regarding Karl Woodley and his 'diamond company'," she said using air quotes.

"He-he, a Grim Reaper is asking a mere mortician regarding people's death. How funny! And why didn't you go collect the data yourself?"

"Well, that would mean looking up hundreds of records only to find a select few that are connected with Woodley. Besides, I just wanted to spend some alone time with you. Like you said, it's been a while," she said with a smile, but something about her tone made him suspect something was wrong.

"I'd be happy to help. I can look through some paperwork and give you a list of customers you might want to look more closely at," he said as he looked through a drawer containing various papers. Some would say it was very disorganized, but he viewed it as perfectly organized and found his list of recent customers quickly. "How has the young lord been since I last saw him?"

"He's the same as usual, but I do have to admit this last mission took a bit of a toll on him."

"And why is that?"

"We confronted someone who was nearly involved with the Phantomhive tragedy and he had a traumatic reliving of it. He's trying to take things easy, but with the new game he's going to play, I'm not sure that will be possible."

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear. Perhaps he can take his mind off of things by stopping by and getting measured for his coffin," he said jokingly.

"One of these days, he will," she said with crossed arms. "But for now, he'll escape death again and again with us by his side."

"Indeed," he said as he showed her the piece of paper he held onto for a bit. "I try to be as detailed as I can about a customer's death, but as long as Reapers do their jobs correctly, that can be difficult at times."

"Right," she said as she looked through it. Bastille made sure to be quiet as he cracked the lid of his hiding spot and get a glimpse of the conversation. Undertaker noticed this and made sure to keep her vision away from the coffin. Bastille felt an influx of emotions inside of him just by looking at her. He was happy to see her, even if he couldn't interact with her. Though, resentment for the Association rose in him as he was reminded why he couldn't just go up to her and act like normal siblings. Also, he was worried how she would react, especially after dealing with Eris, who was taking her form the entire time. Even he could tell something was bothering her, but would probably never know what—

"Are you feeling all right?" Undertaker asked as she continued looking through the list.

"Hmm? What do you mean?" she said, taken aback by his sudden question.

"You try to hide it, but something is bothering you, isn't it?"

"No, not really," she lied as she continued reading, trying to move on from the topic.

"Lily, I've known you for a couple of centuries now; I know when something is troubling you. Who did it this time? The young lord, Grell, your boss?" he listed. Though, he did notice that her pupils dilated at the mention of her boss. "All right, what did William do this time?"

She blushed a bit, embarrassed he was able to somewhat figure it out without her saying anything. "It's nothing. During our mission, William was also there conducting his own investigation. Even though I was able to get out of work because of it, I wasn't expecting how much we would argue during the entire time we were there," she said, finally looking up at him. "What's even worse was that I was not keeping my anger in check. I was poisoned by Demonic Spices and it made me very combative."

"Demonic Spices? In a human circus?" he asked, despite knowing the reason before she even mentioned it.

"Yes, apparently there was a succubus there who fed us chocolates with those spices in it. She wanted to play a game with us and make us snap at each other at the drop of the dime. We still haven't formally apologized to each other for it, but I did explain my situation to him. Of course, his response was as emotionless as ever," she said, with a twinge of sadness in her voice.

"I guess that would be upsetting, but you can't rely on him to apologize, especially when he can never express his emotions in the first place. I'm sure he feels guilty as well, but doesn't want to drop his professionalism around others."

"Sure he does," she said before returning her eyes to the paper. "Do you mind if I take this with me? I'm going to report for work soon and this will definitely help slim down my search. If you want, I can even add more details."

"You don't need to do that, but for bookkeeping, I'd like to have it back as soon as you can."

"I will, don't worry," she said as she was heading to leave, but they heard the bell ring and in came the dirty blonde woman with brown eyes.

"Oh, sorry, am I interrupting something? I can just come back—," she tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Come on in. Our business has just finished," he said. Lilliana looked at him with suspicious eyes. "She's a customer. I recently helped her bury her mother. Though, I don't know why she's here now."

"W-Well," she said nervously as came in and closing the door. "I just wanted to show my thanks for making her look as beautiful as she was when she was alive. I know my family paid for your services already, but I wanted to thank you personally. I don't have much money, but I did notice that your parlor could use some cleaning. If you would like, I can do that for you."

"It's about time," Lilliana said with a smile as she headed out the door. "Good luck with that, dearie. I hope to see you again, Undertaker."

The three sighed in relief as Eris returned to her usual appearance and Bastille came out of his hiding spot. "I thought that your conversation with her would be much quicker than that. I even bought a new broom and mop along with the duster just to kill time," she said as she placed the cleaning supplies nearby.

"We're old friends, so we spent some time catching up," he said as he walked up to get the duster. "As promised."

"You really are a friend to her," Bastille said as he approached them. "I don't think she ever had anyone be concerned for her well-being other than me."

"Unless you count Sebastian," Eris teased.

"What did I say about bringing up that name around me?" Bastille asked with a knitted brow.

"I know, I know, but you have to get to know the man better. You might be surprised," she said as she picked up a broom and handed the mop to Bastille. "Don't think you're exempt from cleaning. This is our thanks to him for letting us stay here for the meantime."

"Are you serious? We're not going to be here for that long," he said as he grabbed the broom.

"Just do it, s'il vous plait," she said in an annoyed tone before she began to sweep the floor. Bastille rolled his eyes, but did as he was told and went to fill a bucket with water to mop with. "Adrian, was there something you wanted us to do? I mean, that's why you brought us here, non?"

"Ah, right! Thank you for reminding me. I need you to meet with a doctor who might be willing to be part of our cause temporarily."

"A doctor? Why?"

"We need some credibility for our work in the human world and possible funding for any equipment we might need. Of course, we have the true secret, but we need to find a doctor willing to be our Victor Frankenstein. I'm sure with your skill, you'll be able to do it."

"Hmm, all right, but it could take some time to get him to agree with us."

"I don't think that will be an issue," he said with a smile. "The doctor I have in mind has come in here, asking if I had any spare bodies for his experiments. Apparently, he wants to bring the dead back to life, but never found the perfect technique. Sadly, his wife recently passed away from a heart attack and he tried to bring her back to life, but failed. The funeral is scheduled for tomorrow, but I thought of using a safety coffin on her. Who knows if that little bell will ring," he said with a smile.

"Ah, I see," she said retuning the smile. "I just hope that Bastille doesn't mind. Despite never wanting a relationship, he doesn't realize just how jealous he gets knowing that another person is touching my skin."

"I heard that," Bastille said as he returned with the bucket of water. "And just for the record, I'm not the jealous type."

"So you say," she said with a teasing smile.

"Regardless, I also have a task that I want you to do, boy," Undertaker said as he finished dusting a section and moved closer to him.

"And that would be?" Bastille said as he mopped up the areas that Eris finished sweeping.

"I'm afraid that there is a weapon in the Association that could really hurt us and that is their little demon huntress."

"Katia Vendoa? Even with my high standing, she is a powerful foe and should not be engaged with—,"

"You don't have to fight her, silly boy. I just want you to get her out of the way, even for a short while, so we can work in peace."

"And how am I supposed to do that?"

"Well, it turns out that she is contracted to kill you," Eris said as she stopped sweeping to look at them. "But they're keeping it a secret from Lilliana so she won't break the rules to protect you."

"I should have expected as much. They'll do anything to cut off our bloodline," he said with bitterness in his voice.

"So, in order to keep you safe, but get her out of the picture, we thought that maybe you would give a little hint to where you would be headed."

"Where I would be headed? Are you suggesting that I taunt her so we can play a little cat and mouse game?"

"Or at least give her the impression that you are," Adrian said. "Probably in a country that she would believe would be threatened with your presence."

"Ah, I see," he said before putting the dirty mop into the bucket.

"Oh, but there is one thing: find a way so that Lilliana won't know. If she does find out, she might find a way to travel there to protect you."

He nodded. "If that's what it takes, then consider it done."

* * *

Lilliana walked to Headquarters, reporting for work, but hoped she could find time to look through the names Undertaker provided for her. She figured she would be having a sleepless night, but it would be all worth it to please her young master. Ever since the incident with Grell, she noticed a couple of changes around the office. Grell has been a bit afraid of her whenever she was around, but he's slowly returning back to normal, especially when he believes he won since he landed a "killing" blow on her. Katia has been trying to spend more alone time with Lilliana, but because she was so busy, Lilliana usually politely declined and promised a next time that seemed to never come. Though, it never stopped her from asking every night. Ronald was punished for "neglecting his duties" and was assigned more souls to collect, even during the night shift, so he could make up the work. No one protested against it since that meant their own soul quota was smaller, meaning more free time. As for Will . . . a lot has changed. The two of them managed to act as if nothing happened between them, so no one has noticed, but whenever she had to give him completed files in his office, awkwardness filled the room. They would hardly hold a conversation and avoided eye contact. Since they never talked about the Eris incident, they never moved passed it. However, that was all going to change today.

When she walked to her office, she sat down to look through the files she needed to complete. Luckily, there wasn't that many, so she could find some time to find evidence of Woodley's misdeeds before the party started tomorrow night. However, she was interrupted as she heard footsteps approach her desk. She assumed it was Katia, but when she looked up, she nearly jumped. "Ms. Kiliamo, can I have a word with you in my office?" William asked.

"I didn't do anything, I swear," she said out of habit. Whenever she heard those words, it usually meant she was in trouble for something.

He sighed. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble. I just have some files I need to go over with you."

"That can only mean one thing: who's dying at the manor?" she asked as she got up from her chair.

"If you'll follow me, I'll show you," he said as the two of them started heading to his office. She was a bit suspicious about this; he usually just discussed souls like these by her desk and it would be over with quickly. Why was he taking her somewhere private?

Soon, they reached his office and he closed the door behind them. "Be honest with me, why did you bring me here? I know it's not just because of some files."

"I guess nothing gets pass you," he said as he sat behind his mahogany desk. "I think it's about time we finally move pass our little situation."

"I thought we agreed to never speak of it again," she said as she sat in a chair. "Honestly, I'd prefer it that way."

"Really? You prefer being left with uncertainty? Don't you notice what it has done to our professional relationship? We can't even look each other in the eye without being reminded of that night."

"And? We were never really on good terms beforehand, so people don't think any different when we purposely avoid each other," she said, hoping to end the conversation.

"It's not the same. Besides, you're not the only one who has questions and needs someone to talk them out with."

"So, what am I, your therapist? I'm not interested. Now, show me the files so I can go," she said as she stood up and tried to get the files from his desk, but as she did, she noticed something familiar at the edge of his desk: a simple bag of chocolates, but not just any chocolates. "Are those . . . ,"

He looked in her direction and saw them. "Yes, those are the chocolates you gave me at the circus . . . ," he said, but noticed the confused look on her face and realized something. "Or . . . the ones that Eris gave me."

"She gave you chocolates," she said softly, but looked into his eyes as she continued, "Remember when I told you about Sinful Spices?"

"Yes."

"Well, since we know that Eris was in possession of them, it's very likely that she put some into those chocolates too."

"Are you serious?" he said in shock as he got up from his chair. "But I don't feel rage like you did. In fact, I ate these and my anger was in control."

"Idiot, there are other sins out there. The only one that makes sense for her gain was . . . ," she said as she took the bag of chocolates. She examined it for a bit before sighing and eating a square. Sure enough, she tasted the familiar smooth flavor, as she predicted. "She had you consume the Lustful Spice.

"Lustful Spice?" he repeated as he sat back down. However, he seemed relieved as he continued, "This explains everything. I was under the influence of a spice! It wasn't my fault."

"You really think it's that easy?" she said as she pocketed the chocolates. "That's not how it works. The spice doesn't create lustful feelings from nothing. There has to be a stimulus that triggers its effects. Otherwise, it won't work."

"A stimulus?"

She really didn't want to explain this now. "Look, I need to go and finish a job before you yell at me for neglecting my duties. I'll take the files for the manor and once that job is done, I promise to explain everything. We can even try to get pass this'."

"R-Right," he said as he handed the files to her. "I hope it's no one you're attached to or else that could complicate things."

"I have faith it's not. They're pretty hard to kill," she said with a small smile. "But I do have to ask why these chocolates were on your desk."

"Well, I was getting a bit peckish and I happened to find these with my belongings—," he said before he was cut off.

"Wait, you ate these _recently_?!"

"Yes, why?"

Lilliana sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "You have to release—never-mind. I'll explain it when I get back."

"You better explain now," he practically demanded.

"Like I said, I don't have time to talk now. I have to go before I'm late," she said as she opened the door and ran out, but accidentally bumped into Katia along the way and all her files flew in the air. "Oh, I'm so sorry! I should have looked where I was going," she said as she helped clean up the papers.

"No, it's fine. I'm assuming you're in a hurry, so I'll get the rest," Katia said as she put the papers in order.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. You can make it up to me later," she said, hinting at something.

Lilliana sighed before nervously saying, "A-After my job tonight, I need to come back for a special mission. Perhaps you'd like to assist me on that."

Katia's face beamed with happiness. "I'd like that," she said as she finally cleaned up all the papers and had them the way they were before.

"I should be done in a few hours," Lilliana said before she raced off to her assignment. Katia was overjoyed to finally get some alone time with her. Ever since she learned about William's feelings for her, she figured she had to act fast before he actually acted on those feelings. All this time, she wanted to confess her feelings to Lilliana, but never got the chance until now. She had to put her nerves aside and hope for the best. It's possible that something could happen between the two of them.

However, she noticed a small bag on the floor and didn't know where it came from. After some thought, she figured that Lilliana had dropped it on accident when they bumped against each other. She reached for the bag, thinking she would return it when they planned to meet, but noticed a faint sweet smell coming out of it. Upon further inspection, she opened the bag and found the chocolate squares inside. She was instantly tempted to take them, but figured that these were for Lilliana or she wanted to gift these to someone. Though, she asked herself who would these be for or who gave them to her? She was about to pocket them, but the chocolate smell was practically demanding for her to eat one. "I don't think she'll mind if I take just one," she said to herself as she took a piece out and ate it. However, she was overwhelmed by the heavenly flavor and couldn't resist: she ate one more, and then another and another and another. If Lilliana had purchased these from a shop, she had to find out where it was: she wanted more.

* * *

Lilliana returned in a bit of a frantic from her last assignment. Although she completed her tasks rather quickly, she couldn't find the cursed chocolates anywhere. She retraced her steps perfectly, hoping to find them while she was working, but didn't. The only other place they would be now was at Headquarters, but that was nerve-wrecking. She feared that someone took them, which usually wouldn't concern her if they were human, but if they were a Reaper, she would have to deal with the consequences. She reached her desk, where she finished the paperwork to turn in, but since William returned home, she put them in a shelf outside his door.

Soon, she found Katia, who was working on her own paperwork at her desk, and approached her. "Hey, Katia."

"Oh, h-hello Lily," she said as she got up, but her legs seemed to give out and she started to fall. Luckily for her, Lilliana was able to catch her. Katia blushed bright red and looked away, hoping she didn't notice. "Oh, s-sorry about that. I was feeling a little weak earlier. Maybe I'm tired."

"Then are you sure you want to help me out?" she asked as she helped her on her feet.

"Y-Yes, I'm a woman of my word and don't break promises," she said with a nervous laugh.

Lilliana raised an eyebrow. "Right. Well, it shouldn't take much of your time," she said as she started walking to the library, signaling Katia to follow. "I have a list of names that I want you to look through. If there any connections to a man named Woodley or even his company, I want you to let me know."

"That's an odd mission. Did William ask you to do this?"

"No, it's for my young master."

Katia stopped in her tracks. "You know it's against Reaper Law to interfere with life and death, especially at a human's request."

"We're not trying to interfere with anyone's life. We are just proving a man's guilt. Nothing more than that."

Katia had doubt, but still proceeded to follow her. Still, she didn't want to get caught doing this, especially with a Rogue Reaper who was under scrutiny already. Soon, they reached the library, only to find it locked. "Oh shoot. How are we supposed to—," Katia tried to say, but Lilliana pulled a pin from her hair and bent it to work in her favor. "You are seriously not thinking about doing that!"

"What? We need to enter and nobody is going to let us in. Besides, this isn't the first time I've done this," she said as she quickly fiddled with the lock and opened it. "There's a reason why William has the shelf outside his door."

"And you wonder why you get in trouble a lot," Katia said as the two of them walked inside and Lilliana quietly closed the door and locked it. The library was huge, much to Katia's surprise since the American Library was so much smaller. "The Records are organized by date of death, so it shouldn't be too hard to find them all. Here's the list of names. Do you mind taking the bottom half?"

"S-Sure," she said as she looked at the names, but as she grabbed the paper, she got so close to Lilliana and blushed more.

"Are you sure you're al right?" Lilliana asked.

"Y-Yeah, I-I'm just scared of being caught," she lied.

Lilliana chuckled. "Don't worry, we're all alone here. Everyone else has gone home and won't come back until morning. As long as we're quick, not even screaming will alert someone."

"R-Right," she said as looked through the list and looked at the Records, hoping to find the names.

After some time passed, they managed to find every name and put the Records on a table so they could look through them quickly, but they had to be mindful of where they got it from or else the librarians would be suspicious. Lilliana looked through each of the books and noted those in connection with Woodley, but Katia couldn't focus since she was looking at her. She even bit her lip as her head was filled with thoughts that she didn't know where they came from. Her body felt weird and didn't know what was going on. "Oh, Katia, I was meaning to ask you," Lilliana said as she looked up from a book. "Did you see a bag of chocolates somewhere?"

"O-Oh, right. Y-Yes I did," she said as she took the bag out of her pocket. "I meant to give these to you earlier, but I got . . . distracted."

Lilliana reached for it, but realized the bag was a lot flatter than it was before and quickly checked inside. There were only two pieces left in the bag! "What the—? Katia, did you eat some?"

"I might have had a few," she lied in a cute voice.

"A few? You nearly ate them all!"

"I'm sorry! I'll pay for them if they were meant for someone else! I just couldn't resist."

Lilliana didn't know what to think. It was bad enough that she ate them, but it was worse that she ate so many. The more spice a person consumes, the stronger the effects are and even harder to alleviate. "Clearly," was all she could say. She looked back at the books and kept taking note, but eventually asked Katia to put back the finished books exactly where they found it. She agreed, leaving Lilliana alone with her thoughts: she couldn't just leave Katia like this. She needs to get this spice out of her system, but didn't know how. She didn't want Katia whoring herself, even one time, to anyone willing since that would be hurtful for her reputation. Even worse, at this state, anyone could manipulate her and she would succumb, whether she wanted to or not. This was really bad, but she didn't have any options.

Soon, she finished her task and headed to put the remaining books back in their places. However, as she reunited with Katia, she noticed her using the ladder to put one of the books back, but once she saw her, she got nervous and started falling from the ladder. Like before, Lilliana caught her, making her sigh. "I-I'm sorry! I don't know why I'm so clumsy today."

"Don't worry about it. We're done here, so once we put these back, we can leave," Lilliana said as she put her down, but Katia felt her touching her skin and let out a shiver. "Oh, I'm sorry."

"I-It's fine," she said as she quickly got on her feet and took the books so she could end this awkwardness.

Though, Lilliana had to tell her the truth. "Look, Katia, I've noticed that you're acting weird and I just want to say that—,"

"I'm in love with you, Lily!" Katia blurted out. Lilliana was speechless; she wasn't expecting that at all. "I have been for a while. I-I just didn't know when it was the right time to tell you."

"Y-You . . . I can't . . . I don't know what to say," she said in a stammer.

"I'm sorry if I made things awkward between us now, but I had to say something. For some reason, tonight, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"I think I might know why—,"

"No, it's not just lovey-dovey feelings, but something more . . . enticing," she confessed with a shameful look on her face. "And it got me excited and I couldn't control myself."

"It's all right, Katia. Other Reapers have those feelings too. Some more blatant than others. These feelings are normal—,"

"You don't understand! I touched myself thinking about you and me in a lover's embrace. Though, no matter how many times I finished, it wasn't enough. That's when I realized that I needed to act on those thoughts or else I'd never be like myself again," Katia said as she got closer to her.

It was Lilliana's turn to blush, but she slowly backed away. "I-I'm flattered, I think, but I need to get back to the Phantomhive manor and report my findings."

"No, please stay, Lily! I'm begging you! You don't even have to do anything; I'll make you feel good and that will be enough for me."

"Katia, calm down, you're beginning to sound like Grell and that is pretty fucking scary," she said, but soon reached the table and Katia trapped her.

"At least touch me, Lily. I need you," she said as she grabbed her hand and put it under her skirt so she could rub her wet panties. Katia moaned at the slightest touch as she guided her hand. Lilliana didn't know what to do; if she tried to run, Katia would follow and if she left her like this, she would find release somewhere else. On the other hand, a rush of lust raced in her body and she was reminded that she ate a piece of chocolate earlier in the day. She planned to have Sebastian release the effects, but plans changed. Even if the effect wasn't as strong as Katia's, it was enough to make her want to fulfill her request.

"Katia," Lilliana said as she used her other hand to guide her face toward hers and kissed her. Katia moaned into the kiss as Lilliana freely started to rub her without any assistance. "Since you begged so nicely," she said in a dominant voice as she rubbed a bit faster through her panties, watching Katia moan more.

"Oh Lilliana," she said as they kissed again, this time, adding some tongue, and Katia's hand reached for Lilliana's covered breasts. Even through the vest and button-down shirt, she could feel her erect nipple and teased it a bit, listening as she moaned into the kiss.

Lilliana pulled back as she started to kiss her neck and nibble once in a while. "Such a naughty girl you've become. Tell me, what were you thinking about when you touched yourself? It must have been real erotic if you're this wet," she breathily whispered into her ears.

"W-Well, I thought about you kissing me passionately," she said, but let out a shriek as she felt Lilliana bite down on her neck. That was definitely going to leave a mark.

"Come on, dearie. I need something more fun than that," she teased. So this is what it's like to be dominant like Sebastian. Honestly, she did read enjoy flipping her role and Katia was the perfect submissive to try this on.

In between moans, she continued, "A-After that, you ripped my shirt and starting playing with my . . . ," she said with an embarrassed blush, but Lilliana wasted no time in unbuttoning Katia's shirt.

"If we were somewhere else, I would rip it, but since you need to go home afterwards, I don't think it's appropriate," she said as she removed the last button and took off her shirt, leaving her breasts exposed. They were smaller than Lilliana's but that didn't matter to her as she cupped them and started to squeeze them with both of her hands. "And don't be shy. Say what they are," she said as she squeezed her nipples a bit, getting a fun reaction out of her. "After all, they're part of your beautiful body."

Despite moaning more, she was able to slip out, "M-My breasts."

"Good girl," she said as she wrapped her lips around one of her nipples while her other hand tried to find the zipper to loosen her skirt.

"Ah, fuck, Lily," Katia said in between breaths. This was all she imagined and more. She hoped that this moment would never end and they could stay like this forever. Lilliana managed to unzip her skirt and let it fall to her feet. She then rubbed through her panties as she bit down on her nipple, making Katia arch her back a bit. Lilliana lifted her up a bit so she could sit on the table and be comfortable as she continued. "W-Wait, Lily," Katia said. She looked her in the eyes and it made her blush more. "C-Can I pleasure you for a bit? It seems like you're doing all the work."

"Are you complaining?" Lilliana said before pushing her panties to the side and inserting her fingers inside her pussy, making her moan suddenly. "You seem to be enjoying it a lot."

"B-But I want to please you too," she said as she got off the table and flipped them so Lilliana would be sitting. She thought about protesting, not wanting to lose her dominance, but decided to accept it. Katia wasted no time in removing her pants, vest, and shirt, but was surprised to see her wearing a black corset with red frills and panties to match. "W-Wow, who could imagine you wearing this underneath your uniform. Who's the naughty one, now?" Katia teased as she started to take off Lilliana's panties and teased her bare pussy. Lilliana writhed in pleasure and moaned as loudly as Katia did earlier.

"I'm not the one who fantasized about doing this at work. To think, you were masturbating in the bathroom where anyone could walk in," Lilliana said in between moans, but soon felt Katia's tongue on her pussy and arched her back a bit. "Ah, fuck," she said as she bit into her clenched fist. She was pretty good at this, arguably better than Sebastian. It really does take a woman to know what pleases another woman. Soon, Katia used one hand to rub her clit while the other pinched her nipple and Lilliana moaned louder and writhed in pleasure.

"You have no idea how long I've wanted to do this with you," Katia said as she looked up at her. "And I still can't believe this is happening."

"I-I can't believe it either," Lilliana said in between moans, which increased in pitch as Katia continued eating her out with more ferocity. She gripped her hair tightly, which took Katia by surprise, but she continued as she noticed her about to climax and didn't want to stop now. After some time, Lilliana arched her back as she finally climaxed, almost ripping hair out of Katia's head.

As she relaxed, Katia quickly removed Lilliana's hand and said, "Next time, I'm keeping your hands away from my hair."

"S-Sorry about that," she apologized as she got up from the table. Although the spice's effect no longer had a hold on her, she still had a job to do and it would be cruel to leave her now. "But we're not finished here," she said, retaking her dominance, as she suddenly bent Katia over the table.

"Eep," Katia said suddenly and shivered as she felt the cold table against her skin. She felt her trace her finger along her spine and shivered more.

"Oh, dearie, I have yet to do anything to you yet and you already shivering," she said before spanking her, forcing her to let out a little yelp.

"I-I'm not really a masochist, Lily," Katia said shyly.

"Really? Well, to make up for that, I'll make sure you feel nothing but pleasure," Lilliana said as she slid two fingers in her pussy, making Katia moan loudly. Luckily, they were alone, probably the only two people in the entire building, so controlling her volume wasn't necessary. Lilliana took full advantage of as she thrusted her fingers repeatedly and quickly. Even though she couldn't see Katia's face, she could imagine how pleasure-filled her face would have been: her eyes rolling back and her tongue sticking out. "Does that feel good?"

"Yes it does. It feels really fucking good," Katia said in between moans.

"And to think, you're supposed to be the innocent girl around here and here you are," Lilliana said as she thrusted her fingers even faster, watching Katia writhe in pleasure.

"Y-You'd be surprised," she said as her moans heightened in pitch. Lilliana could even feel her pussy tightening around her fingers, meaning she was about to cum. "Are you at your limit, dearie?"

"Yes, I'm about to cum," she said, but had difficulty forming the words in between her moans.

"Usually, I like controlling orgasms, but for now, it's better for you to release quickly."

"Maybe next time," she said before she let out a loud moan and came on her fingers, coating them in her juices. Katia practically collapsed on the table and caught her breath. Lilliana quickly found a handkerchief from her pants pocket and wiped her fingers before picking up there clothes and setting them on the table.

"I don't mean to sound rude, but we should get going. I still have another job to attend to," she said as she started putting on her clothes.

"Oh, what time is it? It's not morning already, is it?" Katia said with slight panic in her voice as she hurriedly put on her clothes.

"No, it's still pretty early," she said as she pulled out a pocket watch to tell the time. "But you still need to get home."

"Right," she said as she finally finished dressing, but Lilliana was still taking her time, especially with her pants. Her legs were a bit weak, but with Katia's help, she managed to get them on, along with the heels, which they both regret putting on now since they had to walk out in them.

* * *

Katia finally returned home, which really wasn't her own, but rather Grell's. When she came here, she had to live with one of the Reapers since she didn't have enough currency to afford a place of her own. Grell allowed her to stay with him since they became friends and that "it was indecent for a woman to room with a man". Luckily, she viewed him as a woman, unlike everyone else, and she agreed. Though, it was pretty late and she knew very well how much he needed his beauty sleep. Even though she was never the cause of his disturbances, whenever he was forced to wake up, he was actually quite frightening and she wished to never see it again. She had to be very quiet if she wanted to avoid waking him up. She slid the key in the door and slowly pushed it open, but was surprised to see that the lights were on in his room. At this time of night? She quietly walked in and closed the door, but Grell walked out of his room in his red robe and scared the shit out of her. "Oh, you're finally home. It's pretty late, isn't it?"

"I-I know, but what are you doing up?" Katia said, trying to change the subject.

"I just had a nightmare. I won't worry you with the details. I figured some tea would calm my nerves, but when I saw you weren't home still, I figured I'd stay up and wait for you. The real question here is: what were you doing out so late? I doubt you're messing around with some boy," he said as he walked to his kettle and poured himself some tea. "Would you like some?"

"N-No thanks. I was actually helping Lilliana out with something," she admitted, but obviously didn't want to say the full story.

"Oh, _her_ ," he said as he took a sip. "One of the days, you have to realize that she won't look at you the same way as you do for her."

"Says the person who is trying to get William and Sebastian's affection."

"Hey! I will get it. I just have a certain obstacle in the way of it. Once she's done with, then they'll be mine. I'll even only take one if that's what it takes."

"Right," she said as she sat on the red couch. "But she needed some help and I offered it."

"Whatever. You know how I feel about her and will never understand what you see in her," he said with a large sip of tea. "I'm going to head to bed. I need to get some sleep before I work tomorrow. Hopefully they'll make some coffee at the office so I won't be too tired. Last thing we need is a cranky Reaper. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said before he headed to his room and turned off the lights. She figured she would walk into the guest bedroom, or really her room, and go to bed as well. Even though she has a light work load compared to the other Reapers, she agreed with Grell on one thing: no one wants a cranky Reaper. Though, she figured even if she didn't get any sleep, she wouldn't be tired. In fact, she might have a hard time sleeping with the excitement built up in her. She got to spend the night with the woman she loved and she reciprocated those feelings, at least, she believed she did. She had her doubts that Lilliana felt the same way for her, but for now, she believed that this was the start of something special. Maybe the start of a relationship? She could only hope.

* * *

 ** _What will happen at the Phantomhive dinner party? How will the conversation between William and Lilliana play out? Is there something between Lilliana and Katia? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	11. Surprise at the Dinner Party

**Book of Murder**

The day of the important dinner party finally arrived and all the servants were busy getting the finishing touches ready. They had known about the party for a while, but only Ciel, Sebastian, and Lilliana knew the true reason behind it. Ever since Ciel reported the details of the Noah's Ark Circus case and how everything went down, the Queen had lost some trust in him since she believed the children could have been saved, even if they wouldn't be the same ever again. In order to gain favor with her once again, she has charged Ciel with entertaining a German visitor by the name of Herr Georg von Siemens for a night. As much as Ciel didn't want to go through with this, he knew this would be an opportunity to repair his relationship with Her Majesty. Though, the way her two butlers, Charles Grey and Charles Phipps, delivered this message was less than desirable since they actually attacked the servants in the kitchen before Sebastian and Lilliana intervened to calm down the situation. Luckily, the servants could handle their own, but who knows who would have won. On top of that, Charles Grey said he would be attending the party to accurately report what happens to the Queen, not wanting to leave out any juicy details. One wrong move could mean the end of the Queen's Guard Dog.

Now, on the day, they prepared the guest rooms and any other rooms that would be in use of the guests. Sebastian made sure everything would be perfect, even if there was a last minute emergency. Though, the stormy weather might become a problem and even the all powerful Sebastian could only do so much about that. While the other servants were busy with their other duties, he went to check on Lilliana, who was a bit distant from not just him, but everyone, ever since the circus. He figured it was mainly because of all that happened to her, but assumed she would get over it quickly. However, knowing that her superior has lustful feelings toward her must be a lot for her to handle. Of course, Sebastian acted jealous thinking about it, though he would never admit it, but he could tell she was trying her best to move on, as hard as it was. She still had the usual smile around the servants, even if she was interacting with them less. They hoped that this dinner party would bring her spirits up and keep them there.

He found her making the bed in a guest room, but her head was in the clouds. Unlike Mey-Rin, she'll get her job done correctly even while distracted. Though, her senses aren't as strong as usual since it took Sebastian clearing his throat for her to notice he was there. She jumped at the sound and looked up to find him. "I told you not to scare me. I can get quite defensive."

"All I did was walk into the room," he said as he began to aid her in making the bed. She didn't want to say anything else and looked away from him. Though, he couldn't be silent any longer. "Something must be troubling you if you're letting your guard down like this. Though, I may know the reason why."

She looked up at him, but quickly looked away. It wasn't just William anymore; it's now Katia as well. She admitted her feelings to Lilliana and she pretended to reciprocate those feelings to relieve her from the spice. She couldn't help, but feel guilty about the whole situation and was not looking forward to seeing her when the assignment was done. Not to mention, her mind flooded with the circus they left behind and Eris, the bitch who changed her life forever. "It's not that. I'm just worried about that succubus still wandering about."

"Why would that trouble you? It's unlikely that we'll run into her ever again, even if she does stay in the area."

"Still," she said as they finished their chore. "Now that she's after someone, she might stick by, hoping she'll be able to trick . . . HIM again. She could even come here and trick you or the servants or anyone else we know."

"I highly doubt that a lowly succubus would waste her time pining after one meal that will never happen," he said as he walked up to her.

"It doesn't have to be him anymore. She knows where I work and the people I interact with. She could potentially wreck havoc here and only you wouldn't fall victim to her trickery," she said in a slight panic. Although she didn't truly care about the words she was saying, the panic she felt about her overwhelming situation was genuine, but she couldn't be honest for an obvious reason.

"It will be all right," he said as he put a hand on her shoulder. She put her hand on top of his as he continued, "I understand your concern, but you have to remember how demons behave. Being around Grim Reapers must have made you forget that."

"I guess," she said as she turned around and looked him in the eyes. "But not all demons behave the same. Otherwise, more demons would get along with each other."

He smirked. "Very true. Your brother is quite an oddity among our kind, but you would have been too if you stayed with him."

She looked down. "Right." However, their conversation was cut short as the sound of carriages from miles away caught their attention. "Well, I guess it's time for us to get to work. Who knows what could go wrong during this party," Lilliana said with a little sadistic smirk that relieved Sebastian. Luckily, she could act very well and pass off that nothing was amiss, even if she was at the point of a breakdown. He admired that, but he sensed that she could be lying about what her troubles were. Though, he didn't feel it was right to pry about it, especially if she didn't want to mention it. Still, he didn't like to be left in the dark and if she's still troubled, he might have to.

* * *

Soon, the guests started arriving, all greeted by Lilliana first before entering. She asked them to show their invitation and once they did, she let them through. She had a warm smile on her face, which only grew warmer with two guests in particular. One of them was Patrick Phelps, a trade division board member for a shipping company; the other was Arthur, who felt the most out of place in this line-up, since he viewed him as nothing more than a failed writer and a mediocre ophthalmologist. When Lilliana greeted him, she sensed his uneasiness and actually shook his hand to welcome him, as if he were an old friend. He was confused, but he entered just like the others. Among the guests included them, Lau and Ran-Mao, inseparable as always, Karl Woodley, who was the president of a prestigious diamond company, and Grimbsy Keane and Irene Diaz, a stage director and an opera singer respectively.

Soon, Lau and Ran-Mao made small talk with the nervous writer. "Please allow me to make our introductions. I am the lowly branch manager of a trading company. My name is Lau. And this lady is my sister, Ran-Mao. What is it you do, sir?"

"Oh, I'm an ophthalmologist and I do a little writing from time to time," he explained, trying to sound as calm as he could when he was nervous as hell.

"Oh, do excuse us! We shall have to call you 'Doctor' then."

"Oh, no, please don't, it's just ophthalmology. I've no idea what I'm doing at such a fancy party. Not at all."

Lau laughed. "One Can never tell without dear earl. He can be so finicky."

"Is he really that difficult to please?" Arthur said, feeling more nervous than before. "H-How else would you describe the earl? What sort of person would you say he is?"

"How would I describe him? He's extremely proud and his face seems to only display two emotions: anger and disdain. There must be a story behind the eye patch he wears, but I'm afraid I cannot tell it," Lau said, fully watching fear fill in Arthur's eyes and was fully enjoying it.

"I would appreciate it if you'd stop teasing my guests," Ciel said from the top of his grand staircase with Sebastian by his side.

"Er, he's so . . . young," Arthur said in shock.

"Surprising, isn't it, that a small child would bear such a large title," Lau said.

"We can do without the 'small', thank you," Ciel shouted before regaining his composure and greeted as he walked down the stairs, "Hello, and welcome. I would like to thank you all coming to my little party. I am the earl of this fine estate, Ciel Phantomhive. I know we shall have an excellent time. I look forward to greeting each of you once dinner begins, whether you are an acquaintance of long-standing or somebody I'm meeting for the first time." However, as he reached the bottom of the stairs, he looked confused as he looked back at his servants and said in a quieter voice. "I don't see our guest of honor."

"He has not yet arrived. It appears that the inclement weather has delayed him," Sebastian said.

"Well that's unfortunate. What do we do? I very well can't keep everyone waiting in the hall."

"Pardon me, master, but the guest of honor is here," Lilliana said as she opened the door to let Siemens and Charles Grey in the manor. They didn't even need to show an invitation.

"A pleasure to meet you, my lord," he said in an accent that didn't seem like he could speak English well, but his vocabulary would soon prove otherwise. "Georg von Siemens, at your service. Thank you for your kind invitation."

"Hello! All set for a capital party, eh?" Charles said with a playful smile.

"You've come a long way. I'm so happy you could make it. I am Ciel, Earl Phantomhive," he said as he shook his hand. "You must be hungry. We've prepared a feast for you. It's buffet style, for conversation. If you will accompany me this way." At those words, he guided the two new guests into the banquet hall, leaving Sebastian alone with the other guests.

"Pardon me. I will announce those who remain. As I do, please proceed to the dining hall." He proceeded to call each guest by name and title, but Arthur was a bit confused by this.

"We had to present our invitations before entering. Isn't this a bit redundant?" he said quietly to himself, but not quiet enough.

"Actually it's not," Lilliana said as she walked next to him, startling him. "Oh, sorry for speaking out of term."

"N-No, I should be apologizing for—,"

"It's fine. Relax a bit, sir," she said with a friendly smile. "But we do this so the guests here can know who the others are. It's not just the earl who will meet these people. You will as well."

"Oh, I guess you're right," he said with a nervous hand behind his head.

"I'm Lilliana Kiliamo, by the way. I may just be a servant, but I couldn't help but overhear that you were a writer, Doctor?"

"P-Please, you don't need to address me so formally."

"But I do. Like I said, I'm a servant and I must address you as such. If I couldn't do that, then what kind of a maid would I be?" she said with a smile.

"Well I suppose the best families have the best servants," he said, wanting the conversation to end. Even if he felt like he didn't belong, it didn't seem appropriate for him to converse with the servants, especially when these elite people were watching. Though, he had to admit that he would rather talk to her than anyone else here. Soon, Sebastian called Arthur's name and Lilliana pushed him a bit since he was still a bit reluctant to go.

When all the guests were in the banquet hall, Sebastian walked up to her and said, "I see you have made a new friend."

"I'm interested in his line of work. Writers were always fascinating for me. Besides, it feels a bit nostalgic to interact with one. I don't think I've ever told you this, but the very first soul I reaped was a writer's."

"Interesting. Let's just hope he doesn't share the same fate as him."

"We may never know," she said with a shrug as the two of them walked into the hall with the other guests.

Inside, the guest chatted among themselves and partaking in the delicious food the servants cooked for them. Not to mention, there was plenty of alcohol for everyone and some, like Siemens, enjoyed more than enough. Everyone seemed to be having a wonderful time, except for Arthur, who felt the most out of place. As much as he wanted to, he would be terrified to even walk up to one of these people and chat with them. However, he was interrupted when Ciel sat by him and started to speak to him like he was a normal guest . . . well, he WAS a normal guest.

Lilliana watched the two polar opposites react as the other servants served drinks and food to the guests. Though, Mey-Rin was unlucky as she was trapped by Siemens' "loving" embrace along with Ran-Mao, who felt no shame for being in his arms, which was expected. However, having them with him wasn't enough as he looked at Irene and started to touch her, much to her dismay. She even told him to stop as kindly as she could, but he just continued. Once she had enough, she shouted, "I told you to desist! I won't stand for this anymore. Keep your hands off me!"

"But my dear, just look how you're dressed! How is a man supposed to help himself, eh?" Siemens said as he tried to embrace her again, but she tried wiggling out of his grasp.

"Someone please stop him! He's out of control," Phelps yelled in a panic, even though he was close enough to do something.

Soon, Irene slapped his face and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself, you cur."

"How dare you speak to me like that, you strumpet!" Siemens yelled as he grabbed a glass of champagne and threw the liquid in her direction, only to have Ciel in the way, protecting her.

Everyone was afraid that the young lord would react harshly to Siemens, but he only calmly said, "Please, this is a party. For the sake of the other guests, I ask you both to step away and—,"

"You disgusting old codger! I'll teach you to touch what doesn't belong to you," Grimbsy yelled as he grabbed a full wine bottle and threw it towards the man, but Sebastian caught it in time and started to pour it on the glass tower that miraculously showed up out of nowhere. However, this time, Mey-Rin was nowhere in sight to avoid repeating what happened last time.

"Here, we have a rare vintage wine from the village of Purcari in southeast Moldova. We do hope you'll all enjoy a glass with us this evening," Sebastian said, as if this was planned from the start. Even Lilliana was impressed how smoothly this was going. All the guests were in awe, even Ciel, and the sweet smell of wine filled the surrounding area. Everyone started taking a glass, giving Sebastian and Lilliana enough time to chat with the young lord while he dried off with a towel she quickly retrieved, but they walked toward Arthur and she decided to separate from the duo.

"I hope you're enjoying yourself. Should I get you a glass of our wine?"

"Oh, no, it's not necessary. I'll get one on my own. I don't want to trouble you."

"It's no trouble at all," she said with the same friendly smile that slowly started to make him anxious. Why was she this happy to interact with him? He observed how she interacted with the other guests, expecting the same treatment, but her smile was less warm than when she spoke with him. However, Sebastian and Ciel started to speak French so Arthur couldn't understand what they were saying, or so they thought. Lilliana chuckled, though, at the comments made about Siemens and his apparent drinking problem. However, what surprised her was him chuckling as well, but once he saw that she noticed, he pretended to play the ignorant fool, which didn't work. "You speak French, monsieur?"

"A-A bit. Only conversational French. I have had to research certain French phrases for a novel."

"And you say you're nothing special. I secretly hoped you were a French native like me, but just knowing you can understand is still comforting for me."

"A French native? I would have never guessed. You don't have an accent."

"Well, I've been in England for such a long time that I picked up the accent and language. However, if I ever spoke French, you would hear it very prominently," she said as she started to walk away. What an odd servant, he thought. Very odd indeed.

* * *

As the night grew later, Siemens had fallen asleep in the banquet hall and the other guests were unsure what to do. They would have offered to take him back to his room, but they feared he would suddenly wake up and attack them if disturbed. It would take someone strong enough to deal with such an outburst and Ciel knew exactly who to take him. "Sebastian, Lilliana, help him. He'll be more comfortable in his room. And I shall be turning in shortly, as well."

"You're leaving us for the night already, my lord?" Lau asked.

"Yes, I'm afraid so. It is bedtime for children like me. Do please enjoy the party for as long as you'd like," Ciel said as he, Sebastian, with Siemens over his shoulder, and Lilliana on his other side, walked to their respective rooms, but not before she had some witty words for his master.

"You loathe being seen as a child until it's convenient."

"Shut it, you."

The night grew even later and most of the guest had separated into groups either playing billiards, chatting more in private rooms, or continued eating and drinking. Meanwhile, all of the servants stayed in their quarters, washing the dirty dishes and gathering any trash from the rooms and leaving them by the back door so they could dispose of it when the rain stopped. However, Mey-Rin was distracted as she kept saying, "I'm ruined! Who will marry me now?"

"What's the big deal? All he did was wrap his arms around you. How would that ruin something as trivial as marriage?" Lilliana asked out of curiosity, not just to know her opinion, but as a Grim Reaper who did not know everything about human behavior. Plus, since she was merely putting away clean dishes after Sebastian had cleaned them, this would provide some entertainment in the meantime.

"Marriage, trivial? Oh no! It's the most important day in a woman's life, yes it is! It's the day she finds her one true love and becomes one with him for eternity. Oh, it's so romantic, but now I'm impure!"

"You do realize couples get divorced, right?"

"They don't respect the sanctity of marriage! Marriage is a commitment to be devoted to each other for the rest of their lives. Even through the hard times, they are supposed to work together to work through them. It's the purest form of true love and the couple entering into such a sacred ceremony should be just as pure. Every woman wants to get married some day."

"I hate to burst your bubble, but not all women do," Lilliana said as she put away the last of the dishes.

"Impossible! Name one woman who doesn't dream of getting married!"

"Well, for starters, me."

"Besides you," Mey-Rin said, a little embarrassed and shocked by how fast she answered.

"Well, you remember Katia Vendoa, right?"

"Oh right. She was let go not too long ago. Never knew why," Baldroy said as he finished cleaning his dishes.

"Something about lying about who she was?" Finny asked as he carried a very large pile to Mey-Rin, who put them away. He made sure to be delicate when handling them.

"That would be correct," Sebastian said, trying to cut off this chat. He didn't like talking about Katia, especially since he learned she has some feelings toward Lilliana. On top of that, she lied to get the maid position and they may be noble of her to do, he still did not appreciate a lying Grim Reaper wandering about.

"Still, she doesn't want to get married either. I don't even think the idea crossed her mind," Lilliana said. Soon, the thought of their intimate night crossed her mind and it made her wonder if Katia really felt that way or if the spices were forcing her to say those things.

"Well have you given at least the thought of marriage a chance?" Mey-Rin said, not wanting to give up from this topic.

"I have and I just don't see myself devoting the rest of my life to one person, whoever they may be. It's just pointless," Lilliana said honestly. Sebastian chuckled quietly; if only these humans could understand the perspective of a deity. "It's more of a prison sentence than a devoted commitment."

"A prison sentence?! How could you say such a thing—," Mey-Rin was about to say before she was cut off by a bell, signaling their assistance in Siemens' room. As much as Lilliana was happy to be done with this conversation, they all dreaded going to his room, especially since they didn't want to deal with someone who could possibly have a hangover. Though, Mey-Rin dreaded it the most. In order to make things easier on everyone, they all decided to walk to the room together.

As Sebastian knocked on the door, he said, "Herr von Siemens? You rang for assistance?" However, they heard glass shattering

inside the room and him yelling and knew something wasn't right.

"Are you all right in there, sir? We heard a crash!" Mey-Rin yelled as she tried to open the door, but it was locked from the inside. She tried to get his attention by banging on the door, but gained the attention of the other guests instead.

"What are you doing to that door?" Charles said as he, Irene, and Grimbsy walked their way, followed by the others. "What's all the fuss about."

"Stand back, I'll handle this," Lilliana said as she kicked down the door, which was alarming to mostly everyone around them. Who knew she had that kind of strength. However, they couldn't calm down as they saw Siemens' lifeless body sitting on a chair near the burning fireplace. There was what appeared to be a bloodstain on his chest, indicating he was stabbed. However, something didn't seem right to Lilliana as she turned to Sebastian and whispered in his ear. He then pulled out his watch and they both observed the time.

"If I may," Arthur said as he walked up to the body and searched for a pulse, only to find none. Not even a glimpse of life in his eyes. "This man is dead."

"But how can that be?" Woodley exclaimed.

"How awful," Irene said as she hid near Grimbsy.

"I heard screaming. What's all the commotion about," Ciel said from behind the gathered group, only to see the same grimly sight they did.

"I would say the most likely cause of death is exsanguination," Arthur said, noting the chest wound.

"Er, we'd best not move anything until the Yard arrives," Grimbsy said, trying to stay calm, but it was a little difficult given the circumstances.

"Normally, yeah, but is it hot in here to anyone else?" Bard said as he fanned himself with his hand.

"I did warm the room in advance of his arrival. Perhaps even after that, he was feeling chill," Lilliana explained.

After a moment of silence, Bard said, "It may be indelicate to say so, but at this temperature, he'll decompose fast. Even if we out the fire out, it'll be warm by the hearth."

"Did he say 'decompose'?" Irene said in fear, but didn't seem to be heard or acknowledged.

"I agree. We ought to move him to a cool, dark place until an expert arrives to give him a thorough examination," Arthur requested.

"As you say," Sebastian responded. "The cellar is likely the best place for him, then. We shall move him there for the time being. Finny, fashion a stretcher."

"Yes sir!" he said with a cute salute as he rushed out of the room, thankful he didn't have to look at a dead body anymore. Despite his far from innocent past, especially after what happened to the circus performers not too long ago, he still didn't like to see dead bodies. Once he managed to find one, he brought it back to Siemen's room and put the body on the stretcher. Baldroy offered to carry the other half of it and Lilliana tagged along to help open the cellar door for them. They didn't speak much, but the two male servants noticed her confused face, but figured she was just freaked out about the dead body for some weird reason. Maybe she was pondering if this was a warning before an assassination attempt to Ciel, which they all had to be mindful of now.

Once they returned, they started to ponder what happened and who could have done it. Lau was the first to speak as he said, "I doubt we can expect the Yard to arrive anytime soon. The storm is still raging and we're cut off from the rest of the world for now. It seems likely that the murder is still inside the manor with us." The guests gasped at the realization, not wanting to believe it's true.

"It's only logical that one of us in this room is the perpetrator," Charles said, making the guests even more terrified.

"One of us? That's positively absurd!" Grimbsy exclaimed.

"What would be the motive though? Most of us have never even met before?" Arthur stated, trying to find an answer.

"And does it seems strange to anyone else that the door was still locked when we arrived here?" Irene thought out loud. "So, it seems to me that somebody entered the room through the window, bought time to escape by locking the door, and then quickly exited the same way they entered."

"True, but when there is rain, there's mud. An intruder would most likely leave footprints if they came in from outside. Besides, the windows appear to be locked." Charles pointed out.

"If that's the case, then the culprit locked the door from the hallway?" Grimbsy hypothesized.

"That would be impossible," Lilliana said. "None of the guest were ever actually supplied with the keys to their rooms. The doors were fitted with deadbolts, which allow each guest to lock his or her room from inside, but not out. No keys were distributed to anyone."

"You can see that it's broken now, indicating it was locked before I kicked the door down," Sebastian said nonchalantly, forgetting sometimes that not all humans are capable of swiftly kicking a door down like he can.

"So we have a locked room murder on our hands," Lau said in a tone feigning fright, but also wanting to mess with the other guests just a tad.

"That's preposterous! This isn't a mystery novel," Woodley exclaimed.

"And not a good one at that," Ciel said. "I have to imagine that the solution would be far too obvious for today's discerning reader. Would you not agree, Dr. Arthur?"

Arthur was confused, but soon realized what he was hinting at. "Indeed. That little needle and thread trick would explain it all. They fastened a threaded needle near the latch of the door and pass the thread underneath the door before exiting the room. Then, they closed the door and carefully pulled the thread to release the needle."

"It's so often used in mystery stories that it's become cliché. The killer isn't probably trying to copy a novel, but it's the only explanation that seems realistic in this case," Ciel continued.

"That explains the locked door, but it doesn't narrow our suspect pool. If it's that clichéd and simple, anyone could be responsible," Lau said.

"Well we certainly didn't do it! You'll have to look elsewhere!" Grimsby said as he pulled Irene close to him.

"Not at me, I hope," Woodley said. "After all, you're obviously the most likely suspect among us. You were fighting with him earlier, for goodness' sake."

"Oh, please, what does that have to do with anything? I wouldn't kill for such a trifle!"

"Gents, there's no need for shouting. Let's sit down and calmly sort our alibis, shall we?" Lau said. It was a bit suspicious that out of all the people in the room, _he_ was the one trying to set things in order instead of causing panic. Then again, it could be the opiates calming his nerves a little too much. "The murder happened after Siemens retired to his room. To narrow it down further, we can say it was between then and when he rang for a servant and when they responded to his call. So where was everyone during that time?"

"Well, I know Irene and I were in the billiards room along with Charles Grey, Dr. Arthur and Mr. Phelps," Grimbsy said and they all confirmed the truth.

"None of us left the room," Arthur added on.

"Ran-Mao and I were drinking in the lounge, together with Mr. Woodley," Lau said and Ran-Mao confirmed with a nod.

"We were there until we heard shouting," Woodley added on.

"As for us servants, we were all together cleaning and talking about marriage and why it's important," Mey-Rin said.

"You have to bring up that topic even now?" Lilliana asked, a bit annoyed at this point. Even Sebastian noticed this, but couldn't say anything about it. He didn't want to be involved in this debate either.

"Of course! One day, you'll see, I promise," she said with hope in her voice and Lilliana only rolled her eyes.

"I hope you'll pardon the question, my lord, but where were you at the time?" Lau asked to the last remaining guest with no alibi.

Even though he knew he didn't, he knew that his reason would be the most auspicious out of everyone. "I was asleep in my bed."

"And can you prove that?"

"No."

"I suppose you've become our prime suspect, my lord," Charles said with a bit of a smirk. He had to be honest: the brat was not his favorite person, but for the Queen, he had to leave him alone. Though, times like this when the young lord was at a corner were ones that he enjoyed.

However, Sebastian was there to help his young master. "Now, before we make any rash decisions, I do suggest that we all get some rest and try to figure things out tomorrow with a clearer head. I do advise all guests to lock their doors and windows to prevent any other incidents from occurring."

"I suppose you're right. Besides, we don't have any evidence that proves he did do it," Arthur said.

"Even if that's the case, I'd rather not have him be able to move about freely and try to fake evidence to prove his supposed innocence," Woodley said. Even though the other guests found it harsh, they were thinking almost the same thing.

"I may have a solution then," Charles said as he went to his room and soon came with handcuffs with a long chain between them. "Since you seem to be the only one defending him, would you be so good as to chain yourself to the earl to prevent him moving about? I don't know about you, but I for one would feel ever so much safer," he said with a smile as he handed the handcuffs to him.

"W-Wait, wouldn't you give this task to one of his servants?" Arthur asked in shock.

"I'm afraid they would be too impartial to their master. If he ordered it, they may let him go," Charles explained. Arthur looked at the servants, hoping one of them would be willing, but they seemed to agree with him.

Arthur sighed and said, "All right, I guess. Anything to catch the true murderer."

"Good! I knew you were willing to do your civic duty!" After a bit of chat, everyone went to their rooms and went to bed for the night, or as much sleep as they could in these troubling times. Phelps, however, could not stay in the room next to Siemens and wanted to be moved. Ciel allowed him to sleep in his room and Lilliana guided him there.

"Please don't forget to lock your door, Mr. Phelps. Last thing we need is another murder," she said with a warm smile.

"The doors can't be unlocked from the outside, right?" Phelps asked in a scared tone, as if he was a child lost from his mother.

"Well, they can. Only the head servants have the keys, but you can trust us, I promise."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. No one is going to use the key to harm you. You have my word," she said with a bow. Phelps was still suspicious, but thanked her and closed the door. She soon lost her smile and started heading to Arthur's room.

* * *

"How did I end up here?" Arthur said to himself, but still audible for everyone in the room to hear.

"Honestly, look at what a ridiculous mess this has turned into. I must apologize, dear Doctor. It seems their baseless suspicions of me has troubled you and for that, I am most terribly sorry," Ciel said as Sebastian clasped the handcuff onto his wrist.

"Oh, it's all right," he said, forgetting that Ciel must feel worse about this situation than him. After all, he is being accused of murder at his young age. He may be a noble, but he is still a child and this event could traumatize him forever.

Soon, they heard a knock on the door. "Come in," Ciel said and Lilliana entered.

"Mr. Phelps made his way to the young master's room and is resting as best he can," she reported. "Though, he is weary of the head servants having keys to the rooms."

"Well, as long as you two are together and keep a good eye on the room keys, there shouldn't be an issue," he said as he sat on the bed.

"Lilliana, would you mind securing the other handcuff on Dr. Arthur," Sebastian said as he slid it underneath the bed to the other side to prevent him from even leaving the bed. She nodded as she picked up the handcuff and placed it around his wrist. However, he was surprised to feel how cold her hands were and visibly moved at the touch.

"Is something wrong? I do hope that you aren't nervous staying here," she said with a concerned face.

"N-No, your hands are so cold. Is it chilly for you?"

It took her a moment to realize this and nodded. Grim Reapers have been told that their skin is cold, mainly because they do not need to retain body heat like humans do and certain vital organs were not "functioning normally". She looked at Ciel and asked, "Speaking of chilly, should Sebastian and I make sure to not let any of the fires go out?"

"Yes. Their host may be absent, but our guests deserve the best hospitality."

"Understood, my lord," Sebastian said as both servants bowed.

"Shall we retire? It has been quite a night, hasn't it?" Ciel said as he rested his head on the pillow.

"Ah, right," Arthur said as he did the same.

"Well, I bid you both good night," Sebastian said as he blew out the candelabra and the two servants exited the room.

Soon, when they were some feet away, Sebastian grabbed a nearby candelabra and lit it with his demon powers. She grabbed the Death Scythe she hid in plain sight in the arms of a knight's armor. "It must be convenient to conjure up things whenever you want them," Lilliana said as she walked with him. "Meanwhile, I have to hide this from others or else I'd be the next suspect."

"It does come with its perks."

"I never got the chance to ask you what kind of a demon you were. Now that I'm reminded of the seven main categories of demons, I've been tying to pinpoint what you are."

"I'm beyond a label," he said as they headed for Siemen's room.

"Hmm, impressive. A demon who masters the powers of two or more categories are so powerful that they can forgo a label. Congrats."

"And your brother?"

"Same. Though, he had an unfair advantage compared to the other sons and daughter of Lucifer since he is considered one of his children without mastering any power. All the others at least mastered one and the most powerful master all of them."

"And those are the ones we should avoid confronting."

"I agree," she said as they reached the room.

However, Sebastian quickly checked his watch and asked, "You have other things to attend to, correct?"

"Oh, right," she said as she started heading down the hall, making sure to not make the Death Scythe visible if anyone was wandering about.

After a while, she returned to Siemen's room and Sebastian was trying to fix the lock for the next time guest would stay in this room in the future. "You finally arrive," he said with a bit of a snarky tone.

"I'm sorry that souls are not the quickest things to collect," she said as she shrugged her shoulders. Before coming back, she made sure to put her Death Scythe in their room to avoid suspicion. However, she smelled something in the air and her eyes turned red. "Sebastian, is that—?"

"I'm afraid so. Something came up and it's changed our plans. We'll need to make preparations for however long this storm lasts." Lilliana had a troubled look, but nodded. There was nothing she could do about it, but she didn't like to do extra work. "Don't worry. I have a plan in mind and will require your assistance."

"And that would be?"

* * *

 ** _How will the rest of the night go? What are Sebastian and Lilliana planning? Who ia the murderer? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	12. Proving Innocence

Despite the late hour, Sebastian and Lilliana wanted to go over some things with the servants before morning arrived. Sebastian was tasked with speaking to Baldroy about the menu for the next three days and Finny about cleaning up the fireplaces. Meanwhile Lilliana was tasked with a special project for Mey-Rin. Especially noting her feelings about being flirted on by Siemens, they figured that it would be unwise to have him go to her room at this hour. It would be scandalous in her eyes. When she arrived at the lady's servants quarters, she knocked on the door to wake her. Luckily, none of the servants were heavy sleepers and she awoke fairly quickly. "H-Hello?" she answered as she opened the door and rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry to disturb you, but there's something Sebastian and I need you to do first thing in the morning," she said as she lifted the cage with a white owl inside. "Please let this bird free as soon as the sun rises. There's a letter attached to its leg. Understood?"

"Y-Yes," she said with a bit of confusion in her tone. Without another word, Lilliana left her side and Mey-Rin closed the door to go back to sleep.

After a while, she quickly met Sebastian in front of Ciel and Arthur's room. He was carrying a pillow in front of his chest and a lit candelabrum in a free hand. However, her eyes turned red and said, "You really need to take care of that."

"I will once we take care of our chores," he said as he was about to open the door, but she stopped him.

"Maybe you shouldn't have that lit. You might disturb them," she hinted. He nodded and blew out the fire and they entered the room in complete darkness. They were about to wake the young master, but they noticed that Arthur was already awake, or at least was having trouble sleeping, and was admiring Ciel.

"He looks so cute when he sleeps. He looks more like Ciel than an earl, almost like my younger brothers," he said quietly to himself.

However, Lilliana wanted to mess with him and said, "Doesn't he, though? That all changes the moment his eyes open."

Arthur was frightened for multiple reasons. Not only did she enter the room magically without a sound, but she heard what he said so quietly under his breath. "You—What—How did you get in here?!" he managed to yell quietly so he wouldn't disturb the sleeping child.

"I didn't mean to startle you. Sebastian and I came to give the young lord his pillow as promised," she said with a soft voice, but not too caring about volume.

"S-Sebastian is with you as well?!"

"I did warn her not to wake you, but she decided to do so anyway," he said in the same volume as her.

"But he was already awake. It's not my fault," she said playfully.

"It's about time you two showed up," Ciel said in a normal voice, surprising Arthur more.

"Ah, sorry, my lord. I didn't realize—," Arthur said in a frantic.

"Give me my pillow this instant," Ciel said as he practically pulled the pillow from Sebastian's hands and gave the old one to him.

"A pillow?"

"Not just any pillow. You could call it a security blanket of sorts," Sebastian teased.

"No, I'd call it just a comfortable pillow," Ciel said with an annoyed tone.

"Is there anything else you need? A soothing lullaby, perhaps?" Lilliana teased as well.

"Hush, you. I've never asked either of you to sing to me once. Stop fooling around and return to your rooms," Ciel barked as he tried to fall back to sleep.

"Our apologies, my lord. We shall return to our duties immediately," Sebastian said as started to leave the room. However, Lilliana wanted to stay behind to say something to Arthur.

"Doctor, you have been terribly inconvenienced. I am very sorry for that."

"No worries. The poor earl; he's truly only thirteen? It must terrify him to be mixed up in all this."

"Oh, so you don't believe he is the murderer despite what everyone else is saying?"

"Not at all. I can't imagine him doing something so cold blooded."

She smiled in the darkness as she said, "I'm glad to hear it. We shall leave him in your hands. I'm sure you will look after him even when others will try to tear him down."

"O-Of course," he said before he heard her close the door. The room was quiet, but he feared that it was possible she could still be in here, waiting to startle him. For now, all he could was sleep and hope all this would be over tomorrow.

* * *

"Doctor, Doctor," Ciel's voice said as he tried to wake the sleeping Arthur. Slowly, he did and Ciel continued, "Please, I need you to wake up now."

"G-Good morning, my lord. How did you—," he tried to say in a cheery morning voice, but was stopped.

"Something's wrong. It's long past time for Sebastian to wake me, or even Lilliana if he was caught up with a task, but neither of them came. That's unheard of." Arthur was confused, but looked at the clock and it was almost 10 o'clock. The morning is practically over and no servant has come to wake him? This WAS unusual.

Soon, they heard a knock on the door and heard an old voice from the other side. "May we come in, master?" Tanaka asked. Without an answer, he opened the door and they saw Tanaka, collected, but sullen, and Lilliana, who looked like she was crying. They looked concerned, especially Ciel, who rarely saw her cry. "I apologize. My tardiness is inexcusable," he said with a bow.

"Tanaka, why are you here? Where's Sebastian? Why is Lilliana like that?" Ciel asked in worry.

"I'm still the head maid and will perform my tasks and more, even in times of grief," she said with a raspy voice and a few sniffles. Without asking another question, the two ran out of the room and down the hall. "Young master!" she yelled and Tanaka ran as fast as an old man could down the hall to catch them. She, however, took her time until they eventually reached Siemens' room, where they found the worst possible sight: Sebastian lying dead on the floor with a fire poker lodged in his chest and surrounded by his own blood. The other guests were already there, surrounding the body and when they saw Ciel enter, they didn't know how he would react.

Ciel tried to walk closer to him, but Mey-Rin stopped him with a hug. "Young master, you don't want to go any further, I promise—,"

"Unhand me!" Ciel ordered as he tried to wiggle free.

"Just listen to her, sir!" Finny said as he tried to help.

"I give the orders around here! Let me go!" Ciel yelled before he managed to wiggle free, or maybe the servants let him go. Soon, he walked to the body, even stepping in blood with his bare feet as he said in a cold tone, "That's quite enough. Quit this playacting. I can't imagine you're very comfortable lying there like that. You've had enough fun for one day, but the charade is over." Everyone around him was surprised by his cruel way of handling Sebastian's death that it was somewhat hard to watch, especially the servants. Lilliana covered her mouth as tears began falling down her cheek. It seemed that she was taking it the hardest, especially since the two of them were so close. "Just stop this. I know you can hear me! I'm telling you to wake up," he practically yelled, but still got no response from the lifeless body on the floor. He got mad and forcefully pulled out the fire poker from his body and knelt down to his body. "Damn it!"

"My lord, please—," Arthur tried to say, but Ciel wasn't willing to listen.

He began to abuse Sebastian's corpse by slapping his face repeatedly as he continued very angrily, "This is an order! You will wake up immediately! You think you can ignore my orders? Who gave you permission to die? I won't allow it! Wake up at once!"

At this point, Lilliana seemed to be audible crying, but it was muffled with her hand. Everyone had a hard time watching the abuse, but no one had the courage to stop him, except for one. Bard held back Ciel's hand as he said in a defeated voice, "Young master, please stop. It's time to leave him be. He's gone now. Sebastian is dead."

"Impossible . . . It can't be . . . You're not dead, are you, Sebastian?" he finally said in a sad tone as the realization started to hit him. "You can't be dead. I simply won't accept it. You're supposed to be with me until they very end." He threw himself onto Sebastian's body so that his mouth was close to his ear.

"His body will start to decay if we leave him here. Perhaps we should move him sooner than later," Charles said as things slowly seemed to calm down. Even Ciel had nothing more to say or do than just let the servant take care of him in this grieving hour.

"My how the plot thickens. It would be imposible for our young lord to commit this murder since he was chained to Arthur last night," Lau pointed out, not really minding the sensitive situation.

Arthur, Bard, And Lilliana took a a closer look at Sebastian's body to perhaps find some clues about who did it. "Seems to me that he suffered a blow in the back of the head. It's possible someone stuck him down from behind while he was tending the fire," Arthur pointed out.

"And when that didn't work, they stabbed him in the chest with that poker to make sure the deed was done," Lilliana said in a voice slowly gaining composure.

"No, I would wager there were two separate attacks," Arthur hypothesized. "Even if we assumed that a blow to the back of the head wasn't enough to kill him, it's quite a switch to stab him in the front instead. Which is why I think there were two killers instead of one."

"One killer or two, we can say this much: the attack shows no sign of hesitation or mercy and whoever could kill _that_ butler must have known a thing or two about—," Lau said before being interrupted.

"He ain't even cold!" Finny shouted, surprising everyone. "And don't talk like that with the master right here! He don't need to be listening to that rubbish!"

"Finny," Mey-Rin said to stop him. "Sorry, he didn't mean no harm."

"But he does have a point though," Lilliana said. "We should move Sebastian's body. We can talk this over a nice meal."

"Yes, I always think better on a full stomach. You servants clear that ghastly thing away. And when that's done, so to it to breakfast, won't you?" Charles said rather coldly.

However, all the servants could say was, "Right, sir."

"Take Sebastian to the cellar," Ciel finally said in a defeated tone. "I apologize for losing control."

"We don't blame you, not at all," Lilliana said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "After all, you saw me in a miserable sight earlier. My apologized for that, sir."

He nodded before heading toward Tanaka. "Sebastian won't be coming back. I shall need you to take his place as my butler. I leave management of the estate and servants in your hands. Take this pin. I'm returning it to you." As he said this, Ciel presented a small pin with a special engraving on it.

"The majordomo's pin; it brings back memories, but are you sure I'm qualified, sir? I'm no young buck anymore," Tanaka said.

"It's only until I find a replacement."

"As you wish, my lord. I humbly accept this responsibility," Tanaka said as he took the pin from Ciel's hand and put it on.

"Lilliana, please aid Tanaka as you would Sebastian. I'm sure he needs all the help he can get at this trying hour."

"Of course, my young lord," she said with a bow. Soon, the servants started to pick up Sebastian's body, but could overhear Lilliana give some strange advice to the grieving young lord. "An earl of the Phantomhive estate should not allow himself to be rattled by the death of a mere servant, even one as good as Sebastian," she said in almost a motherly tone as she even quickly hugged Ciel before joining the other servants in their task.

"We're most fortunate Sebastian finished all the preparations in advance," Ciel said as all the guests arrived to the dining table to have breakfast as the servants patiently waited in the sidelines for them to finish. They had to make sure that they pleased their guests before having breakfast themselves.

"Yes, my stomach agrees with you," Charles said happily with a knife and fork ready in his hands. "Let's dig in, shall we?"

"Wait a moment, please. Who are we missing?" Arthur said. People were confused, but soon realized that there was one empty chair with a full plate of food in front of it, waiting for someone to eat it.

"But I thought we were all present," Irene said. "Who hasn't joined us?" . . . Oh! Mr. Phelps is absent."

"He's so quiet that it's easy not to notice," Grimbsy said.

"Indulged a little too much last night, did he?" Woodley joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"Maybe not," Arthur said as he got up. "I just think, with what's happened so far, we should check his room." Soon, the group got up and they all headed toward Ciel's quarters, where Phelps was staying since he didn't want to be next to Siemen's room. Once they arrived, they immediately knocked on the door with haste. "Mr. Phelps! If you're in there, please answer!" When they received no reply, they tried turning the knob, but it was locked. "We'll need the key. Who has it?"

"Well, as butler, Sebastian was in charge of the key. I do borrow it from time to time, including last night, but I returned it to him before he was murdered. Only he knew where he kept it," Lilliana said.

"Stand aside," Charles said as he, with little warning, began to slice the door down with his lance. Luckily, it broke into pieces, but despite the amazement and fear in everyone's expression, he was far from pleased. "Do you think we could hurry this up a bit? I'm still waiting on dessert." They all rushed in and kept calling for Phelps, but once they reached the bed, they witnessed another horrifying sight: Phelps's body laid on the floor, as if he was trying to escape something with a terrified expression still planted on his face.

"He's been dead for some time, but he doesn't have any visible wounds like the others," Arthur said as he examined the body, but upon further inspection on his neck, he found something. "These look like puncture marks, maybe from a needle? This must be a poisoning. . . . Though, it was quite possible that these marks could be made by teeth."

"A bite mark on his neck! Could it be a vampire?" Irene asked genuinely.

"Are you seriously considering he was killed by a vampire? Preposterous! This is the 19th century! Something so unscientific can't possibly exist!" Woodley exclaimed.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but I think we should put our attention to that clock over there," Lilliana pointed out. They all listened and noticed a clock lying on the ground with small glass shards around it. With a closer look, they could see that the glass was cracked and it was stuck at a certain time. "It reads 2:38. Mr. Phelps most likely broke it before he died. That must be approximately when he died."

"Yes. I think we all need to sit down together and sort some things out, like the order in which these men were killed and who could have been responsible," Arthur said.

Everyone gathered to the drawing room as Arthur quickly wrote down some notes in his mini notepad. "Gathering from everything that we know, we can say Herr von Siemens was killed first. That much is clear. The time of death was approximately 1:10. The second victim was Mr. Phelps, at approximately 2:38. Which leaves Sebastian as the final victim."

"The butler was the last to go? How can you be so sure?" Lau asked.

"It was confirmed by us," Finny spoke up with the other servants, including Lilliana, by his side. "Bard and I saw him last night, right around 2:50."

"And I spoke to Mey-Rin on his behalf at the same time," Lilliana said.

"What could he possibly have wanted at that hour?" Ciel asked,

"He wanted to go over menus with Baldroy, asked Finny to see the fireplaces stayed stoked, and instructed Mey-Rin to release a carrier owl this morning."

"What did the letter say, then?" Charles asked,

"I didn't read it. It wasn't my place to," Mey-Rin answered.

"It's possible that he was writing to the police about the murder. Since the phones are not working, Sebastian had to get around the issue. Though, a pigeon can't make it in this weather, he cleverly used an owl that could withstand it," Arthur said.

"He never overlooked anything even until the very end," Baldroy said.

"Now, Lilliana, were you the last to see him alive?" Arthur asked.

"I believe I was. We handled some last minute chores before he went to clean out the fireplace in Herr von Siemens's room. I went straight to bed right after we parted," she said.

"All right, with everyone's alibis, or lack thereof, I'll create a timeline on the information we have." After some time, he presented the chart to everyone. "Here. The only person who could have killed Herr von Siemens was Lord Phantomhive. Since Sebastian was the only one who had the key to the Earl's chamber, only he could have killed Mr. Phelps. As for Sebastian, other than the earl and myself, basically anybody could have killed him. In other words, this proves it was imposible for one person to have committed all the murders,"

"Now hold on a moment, something doesn't seem right to me," Charles said. "You said only Sebastian had the key to the young earl's chambers, but if I remember correctly, it wasn't him who guided him to the room. It was Lilliana."

Everyone looked at her, who was genuinely shocked by the accusation. "Now that you mention it, you're right. Sebastian didn't accompany her, meaning he must have lent her the key. Did you return it?" Lau asked.

"Yes, I gave it to him just before I left his side," she said with arms crossed.

"After 2:50, I assume?" Lau said in a slightly intimidating voice.

Everyone started muttering to each other, but Lilliana had to defend herself. "You can't possibly believe that I would do something so cruel to an innocent man?"

"We are not accusing; we are just asking questions and point out what we see. However, judging by your response, I see adding a little pressure seemed to trigger a defensive response." She gritted her teeth, but decided to not say anything else that could incriminate her.

"So she was the last person to see both Mr. Phelps and Sebastian alive and she had the key to be able to commit the murder. Her only alibi for Phelps' murder was Sebastian, but he's dead too, unfortunately. If I had to guess what happened, she went to kill Phelps for whatever motive, but when Sebastian found out and tried to confront her about it, she used a fire poker to hit him from behind the head and confirmed the kill by stabbing him." Charles hypothesized.

"You honestly believe that someone who knew about Phelps's murder would carelessly approach the killer? Not only that, but Sebastian is not the type to lose in a fight, even if taken by surprise," Baldroy defended. "There's no way Lilliana could have done something like that to a fellow servant. We're a family and we won't ever kill each other."

"Thanks Bard," she said softly.

"Why are we only pointing fingers toward her? You heard the professor: anyone of us could have at least killed Sebastian," Grimsby said.

"Well, she seems to have all the evidence pointing toward her. It's not our fault for being suspicious," Woodley said. "But if we are able to point things out, since the killer is not working alone, then obviously the most likely suspects are the people who arrived as a pair."

"Trapped here with murderers and then branded as criminal ourselves?! Unacceptable," Grimbsy yelled as he stood from his seat.

"Please, we must calm ourselves. When I made the claim, I didn't imply that the killers were a duo—," Arthur tried to say, but was interrupted with more yelling.

"I've had enough!" Woodley yelled. "I refuse to be held here!"

"And where exactly will you go? Given the situation, I cannot allow you to go wandering about. Even if you lock yourself in your room until the storm passes, you'll be our first suspect if another murder should occur," Ciel said.

"Lord Phantomhive! This entire mess is your doing. Yes, I know who you are. That's it, you had this planned from the beginning. You're to do away with us all as the Queen's mongrel."

"Woodley, there is no need to begin frothing at the mouth. Now be a good boy and sit."

He got mad and raised his fist, ready to punch the brat, as he yelled, "You presume to give me orders?" However, before Woodley could even get close to him, Tanaka directed his punch downwards and made him fall on his back. Everyone looked in shock, even Lilliana and the servants, who haven't seen him be this active in a while. This was the same man who always sat calmly, drinking his tea, and now he was subduing a wildly guest with the same ease as Sebastian. Though, if he wasn't there, they would have done the same, if not in a more violent way.

"You're clearly in some discomfort. I'm very sorry, but on the estate, we are not in the habit of allowing people to strike our young master. Your station does not matter to us, nor your birth, nor your age. I hope you'll keep it in mind," Tanaka said in both an intimidating and gentle tone.

"What's wrong with this bloody manor?" Woodley said in a defeated tone.

"But how did he do that? I didn't even see him move," Arthur said, still amazed by what he witnessed.

"Oh that? It's the Japanese art of baritsu, I believe," Lau explained.

"Baritsu? Tell me more! This is such excellent material," Arthur said as he got his notebook and pen out almost as fast as Tanaka moved and approached Lau. Lilliana couldn't help, but chuckle a little bit.

"That will do. Thank you for your assistance," Ciel said to Tanaka. With a nod, he let go of Woodley, but the lecture wasn't over. "And as for you, may I safely assume that there will be no further defiance on your part?" He gritted his teeth, but got up without saying another word. "Now then, back to business. The only person we're certain is innocent is Dr. Arthur. Therefore, I believe the safest and fairest way to proceed is to allow him to determine our course of action."

"Me, really? Are you sure?" Arthur asked, not expecting this great honor and responsibility.

"I'm quite sure. Does everyone find that to be agreeable?" Ciel asked. Everyone nodded and agreed, noting his trustworthiness and reliability. "Well, that's decided. I don't think we need to worry about this storm letting up anytime soon. So let's make sure our investigation is thorough. Don't you agree, Doctor?"Ciel said with an unusually innocent smile, as if he was acting like his age and wanting to play a game. However, Arthur couldn't help, but feel like soemthing was off about that smile. This child couldn't have committed a murder, could he?

"Now, what shall we do, Doctor? We are awaiting your orders," Lilliana said with the same innocent smile Ciel had. Everyone was quick to point fingers at her, yet she was able to keep a smile. It was admirable in a way, but it could also be seen as suspicious.

"Um, well, to begin with, I'd like to take a look at the cellar, if that's all right. The young lord said that Sebastian was the only one who had a key to your chambers and Lilliana said she returned it to him. I would like to see if I can locate it."

* * *

After a eerie trip walk down to the cellar, a small group of people, including Arthur, Ciel, Charles, and the servants minus Mey-Rin, who was told to care for the remaining guests, opened the door to the room that contained the bodies hidden underneath sheets. "Sorry, I must look closer," Arthur said as he put on some gloves and walked toward Sebastian's body. He removed the sheet, but was surprised to see moisture on Sebastian's face. "Huh? His face is wet."

"Guess there must have been a leak up there. Not too surprising, really," Baldroy said.

"Let's move him somewhere dry," Finny said.

"Right. Moisture will speed up the decay process. In the meantime, it'll be a job taking his clothes off. Let's turn him over—,"Arthur said before he was interrupted.

"He's not some thing! He's a person, even if he's dead! And he deserves better! He was important to us—," Finny exclaimed.

"Finny," Lilliana said calmly, but still trying to get his attention. "If you're going to behave like a child, you can leave." Finny was surprised to hear her say that, but she sighed. "I know it sounds harsh, but we need to do this. I can bet that none of us want to do this, but the sooner we learn who committed these awful murders, the sooner we can put Sebastian to rest." He seemed to understand and backed away.

"We can relocate him later. For now, the key is our top priority," Ciel said. Arthur checked the pockets, but could not find anything.

"Maybe he wore it around his neck," Charles suggested.

"I'll check," Lilliana said as she knelt down and was about to unbutton Sebastian's shirt, but she sensed uncomfortable eyes around her. "What?"

"You seem a bit _too_ eager to undress him," Arthur said with a bit of red on his cheeks.

"I don't see the issue. I'm used to doing—," she said, but stopped herself from finishing her sentence. The young lord isn't supposed to know about their relationship, much less the other guests. With the uncomfortable stares started to bother her, she sighed and said as she got up, "I suppose it's not proper for a woman to undress a man, even after death. Pardon me."

"R-Right. Ch-Charles, help me undress the body."

"Fine," he said as the two of them undressed his upper body, hoping to find the key around his neck, but had no luck.

However, Lilliana seemed to remember something and said, "If you please, I should help Mey-Rin entertain the other guests just in case something else goes wrong. I'm sure you'll be able to continue the investigation without me."

"You're excused. If we don't find the key, we will inform you of our next move," Ciel said.

"Thank you, my lord," she said with a bow before leaving their side. When she was a far enough distance from the cellar, she said to herself, "I should have thought of this earlier. I'm not giving myself much time."

Back in the cellar, they concluded that the key was not on Sebastian and figured that he had hidden it in his room. Once they redressed him, they headed there, but we're surprised to find his room open and even more surprising was to see Lilliana searching around for something. When she heard them, she was startled. "Oh, h-hello. I guess you didn't find the key?"

"Correct, but what are you doing here, going through Sebastian's things?" Ciel said with concern.

"My my, your maid is becoming more scandalous by the minute," Charles joked, but no one seemed to be amused, especially Lilliana.

"Well, I figured that if it wasn't in his pockets, then it must have been in his room. After I checked-in with Mey-Rin, I figured that I would find the key in his room. Though, now I think about it, if I did find it, it might look bad for me. After all, I'm the prime suspect for two murders."

"I'm sure if you explained yourself, it could relieve any suspicion," Arthur said with a nervous smile. "But next time, ask someone to join you so they can speak on your behalf."

"I'll remember that, Doctor," she said with a small bow and a smile.

"Now, let's get to searching," Charles said.

"It's quite a spacious room," Arthur said as everyone walked in.

"Well, he might have been a servant, but he was a high-ranking one," Baldroy said. "As the head maid, Lilliana should have one like this as well."

"Right. I haven't really entered this room to know where Sebastian hid it," Lilliana lied. In reality, they shared this room since it was so big and her assigned room hadn't been touched since she "moved in" when their relationship started. That is, until now. "I've searched through the more obvious spots to hide a key, but feel free to look around." The men nodded and started searching every corner of the room, from dressers to under the bed and every nook and cranny in between, but weren't lucky. The unluckiest of all was Ciel, who was about to open the closet. Lilliana saw this and exclaimed, "Wait, young master—!" However, her response was too late and several cats jumped out of the closet and ran all over the room. Everyone was absolutely frightened by the sight and didn't know what to do. However, some, like Finny, got over the sudden rush of fear and started petting the furry creatures. Lilliana could only facepalm.

"Damn him! I did not sanction the housing of these cats!" Ciel yelled.

"Wow! Look at this one! I think he like me," Finny said as he picked up a cat, but Ciel started to sneeze uncontrollably. "My lord?"

"Get it away from me! My allergies . . . ," he said with a stuffy nose as he continued to sneeze.

"I should have said this earlier, but I heard noises in there and was afraid to open it," she said as she tried to shoo the feline creatures away from her master. "He must have kept them there so they would be safe from the rain. I'm so sorry for his behavior."

"Just get them away from me. Take them outside for all I care." Ciel said.

"In this storm? Surely you can't be so cruel," Finny said.

"Well, from the looks of it, none of us have found the key, so we can leave them in here. We'll release them back outside once the storm clears," she said. "Unless any of the guests are willing to adopt feral cats."

"I highly doubt it," Charles said. "But the key isn't here. Where do we head to next?"

Arthur thought about it for a while, but decided it was time to go back to the drawing room and announce to the rest of the guests, "Pardon me, everyone. We were unable to find the key to the earl's chamber. I would like to get everyone's permission to search through your rooms and belongings. Would that be all right? O-Of course, the ladies will check each other's things so propriety wont be an issue." Luckily, no one objected and the two groups proceeded to check all the rooms.

Lilliana, naturally, stayed with the ladies, hoping that she can escape the watchful eyes of the men that accused her. Though, she wasn't sure if the women didn't think the same as well, but didn't want to say anything in fear they'd be accused as well. They checked Irene's room first and didn't find the key, but they did find a suspicious bottle with red liquid inside. After learning that Irene was twelve years older than Grimsby and they were a couple, Mey-Rin was almost convinced that she was a vampire. Knowing that Phelps was killed with two puncture wounds in the neck, it wasn't too far out of reach.

They checked Lilliana's room last, thinking if anyone had the key, it would be her. She stood by the doorway with her arms crossed so the girls could search without her interfering. "Wow, this room is spotless!" Mey-Rin said.

"Well, as a maid, I have to keep every room clean, including my own. Don't you do the same?" she said nonchalantly. Mey-Rin face distorted for a bit, knowing that she doesn't keep the maid quarters this clean. Even though it would be a group effort if they hired another maid, it was her sole responsibility as of now since the head servants had their own room. However, the truth is that the room is so clean because she had to make it look like she stayed here since she was hired, meaning the room had to be cleaned. When she first chose this room, it wasn't too dirty, but it was definitely abandoned for a while. Luckily, since she has a high standard for cleaning, it wasn't too suspicious that the room was _too clean_.

"I can't find the key. How about you two?" Irene asked.

"Nothing," Mey-Rin said. Ran-Mao made a noise indicating she hasn't. Lilliana felt relieved, thankful that no one tried to pin the key on her knowing she was the most suspicious. Still, the fact that the key was still missing meant that anyone could have it and pin the crimes on her at any time.

* * *

When the investigations were done, everyone returned to the drawing room, hoping the other group found it with no luck. "It seems that Sebastian must have hidden the key outside the manor," Ciel said in an annoyed tone.

"Perhaps, my lord, or maybe the murderer threw it out the window. Given it's small size and this storm, it's a fair bet we'll never find it," Lau said with his usual cocky grin. Hard to believe that he is probably the least suspicious character here, especially with Ran-Mao to confirm his alibi.

"I'll look for it. Please, let me go out and look for it," Finny said out of the blue.

"I'll be happy to go looking for it too," Mey-Rin said.

"At this point, we need any clue we can lay our hands on, but I can't allow you—," Ciel tried to say, but was interrupted.

"Master, just let me do whatever I can to help. I'm not real bright, so I can't use my head to solve the murders, but I can do other things! And if finding the key will help even a little bit, well then, I want the chance to try!" Finny said in a loud, but still respectful, voice before he and Mey-Rin ran off to search for the key.

"You lot can't just run off—," Bard tried to intervene, but were too far ahead to hear him. "Sorry, my lord, please excuse me." Baldroy soon ran off to chase them, amusing Ciel for a bit.

"You better help them out before they catch a cold in this storm," he said to Lilliana, who bowed and followed the order. However, unlike the servants, she went to get a couple of umbrellas. However, she was surprised to see Tanaka grabbing an umbrella as well, which she oddly found comforting, especially during this chaotic environment. The two of them rushed outside, hoping that the servants didn't go too far, and luckily, Baldroy stopped them before the other two could. She didn't know what he said to them or even if he said anything, but they were all crying about Sebastian's death, which made sense. If it wasn't for him, none of them would have the lives they had now. It wasn't just their jobs, but he provided a family and a place to call home to people that once didn't have anything. The same went for Lilliana, who was only a beginner soul collector that was still heavily supervised by the Association. If it wasn't for him, she wouldn't have found an escape from them. If she were a human, she would probably feel the same as they did, but she was a Reaper. Emotions can't get in the way of her work.

"Al right, you two, listen up," Baldroy said, getting their attention. "What did Sebastian hire us for? We guard the house and the master; those are our primary duties. Don't forget that. Remember when they first brought us here? We were a lot different then. We didn't know how to do anything but kill. Sebastian and eventually Lilliana could have done everything on their own. In the beginning, he didn't need our help taking care of the manor, so why do you think that he spent his time teaching a bunch of gits like us? It was so that if something happened to him, the master would still have people around who could take care of things. We can't always rely on Lilliana to do the things he once did forever. There's just one place we should be right now and it's not out in the rain."

"Indeed, well spoken," Tanaka said as he put an umbrella over Baldroy and Lilliana did the same for Mey-Rin and Finny.

"And do you know what Sebastian would say if he were here right now. It would probably be something like that a Phantomhive servant who can't handle a minor crisis like a triple murder isn't worth their salt," Lilliana said with a small smile. The soaking servants nodded and they finally headed inside. As soon as they entered, Lilliana quickly found towels and gave them to the servants. "I should be heading back to the guests to make sure they're being taken care of. I leave them in your care, Tanaka," she said with a sight bow and he returned it.

As she walked down the hallway, she wondered what the day still had yet to bring. As a Reaper, she should know the outcome of this murder mystery, but now that Sebastian was dead, anything could happen. Sure enough, Baldroy and Finny ran down the hallway at top speed, passing her and heading to the drawing room. What could possibly have them acting like this? However, as she turned around, she saw Tanaka and Mey-Rin pushing an unknown man toward the room. "What the hell is going on? Who is that?"

"We have apprehended a suspect!" Mey-Rin exclaimed as she too passed her. Lilliana could only follow them as al the servants reached the drawing room with the stranger. All of the guests were shocked that there was a thirteenth person lurking around the manor.

"Who is this man?!" Woodley said in utter shock.

"I believe the earl can tell you that," the man said and all eyes went to Ciel.

"Been a while, Jeremy. How are you?" Ciel quite casually, surprising the room.

"Another surprise, you know this old fellow, my lord?" Lau asked.

"Indeed I do. This man is the vicar Jeremy Rathbone. A beloved counselor in his local church, he's become rather well-known for his good deeds."

"Do call me Jeremy. No need to stand on ceremony with me," he said with a warm smile. However, he turned to Lilliana and said, "I couldn't tell at first since I was hastily pushed in here, but I thought I recognized my niece in her little maid outfit." Everyone was even more surprised by what he said, but no one was more surprised than Lilliana. The fuck was he talking about?

* * *

 ** _How will the investigation go without Sebastian? How can Lilliana prove her innocence? How can a maid be a vicar's niece? Reviews are appreciated!_**


	13. Putting the Clues Together

It was going to be another late night for William, who finally managed to complete the file for the circus. Due to large quota of souls that required its own paperwork for each soul, not to mention the two lost by demons, it took him and Katia a long time to complete. They knew they couldn't rely on Ronald on completing the paperwork, but since he did collect the most souls that night and due to the limited staff, he was assigned to his usual soul collecting quota instead. William did not wish to be involved in the majority of the paperwork, but he had no choice. It would be cruel of him to give this all to Katia, who was already overworked with the amount of paperwork she was doing now. Both of them have been staying at the office during overtime for a couple of days. However, William had his own reasons for staying up so late.

Ever since the whole circus situation, a lot of things seemed to change and not just between him and Lilliana. He was worried that Katia knew more than she admitted to him about seeing him with Eris and might one day tell someone. Even worse, he feared she would tell the known gossipers in the sect, like Grell and Ronald, who notoriously could not keep secrets, and with Grell especially, who knows how he would react. Though, something about her seemed different than when he last formally spoke to her. William has caught her daydreaming often at her desk, which might be the reason why the paperwork is taking as long as it has. Since she doesn't have a demanding soul quota like the other Reapers, she had enough time to get this done. Still, he was a bit relieved to see her happy than keeping an eye on him, but had to wonder why.

William could hear the bells of a tower tolling in the distance, signaling him to go home, but he refused. Or really, it wasn't that he didn't want to go home; he didn't want to go to sleep. Luckily, as a Reaper, he could forgo sleep for a few days, but when he's been doing nothing but paperwork, it took a toll on him. He could feel his eyes getting heavy, but kept sipping some tea to keep him awake. However, as the night progressed, he sensed that the tea wasn't enough anymore. With a yawn, he got up from his desk and walked out of his office, hoping that a little movement might energize him, even if it was for a little while longer. At this time, the night shift was out collecting souls and would return a few hours later to do the paperwork. This group usually included Lilliana, but she was busy on her special mission at the manor. He wondered how she was handling this since she can't just simply collect the souls and come back. Once she did, they would have to talk, which they both dreaded.

After a while, he found Katia's desk, but she was asleep with a pen close to her hand and her head lying on the papers she needed to turn in eventually. He smiled just a little bit: another victim of overtime. It reminded him of when he first started collecting souls and spent overtime just like this. He decided to not wake her since she clearly needed the rest, but he still needed her to finish so he could go home. Normally, he would wake her and tell her to finish it quickly, but he tried to delay sleep as much as possible, so if she doesn't finish until the morning, that would be fine.

He walked back to his office and sat back in his seat, wondering how he would spend this free time. He still had to look busy in case Katia knocked and turned in the paperwork, but that might be for a while. Will grabbed the almost-finished file and went over it, seeing if there were any mistakes to correct. Though, he found it incredibly boring to go over every single soul and see the same information over and over again with few variations. It was monotonous, tedious . . . pointless . . . boring . . .

* * *

The next thing William knew, he found himself in a room that was unfamiliar to him. Wallpaper with various types of flowers stared right at him and the oak furniture complimented it. He soon realized he was laying on a bed with white sheets, pillows, and blankets with a wooden headboard to contrast it. It was a small room, almost as if he was staying in a hotel, but there was no door to find his way out and the only window in here was too small for him to crawl out of. No, he didn't fall asleep, did he? "Wake up!" he said to himself, but it wasn't a lucid dream, unfortunately.

"Oh, you're back. It's been a while," a familiar female voice said, making his heart pound in fear. "If I had to guess, I would assume that you were trying to avoid me." He looked around and found a full-length mirror, but in the reflection, Eris was observing him from the previously empty chair. He soon looked at the chair and, sure enough, she was there with a mischievous grin. "Welcome back, mon amie."

"No, not this again. Please, I can't take it," he said as he quickly got up from the bed, looking for an escape, with no luck.

"You know I won't do anything to you while you're here. I promised, even offering to make a contract that you rashly denied. Still, you still act so irrationally," she said as she got up from the chair. Ever since he ate the chocolate with the spice, William has been having dreams about Eris. It started as an accident; even she didn't expect to see him the first time this happened. It turns out that whenever the two of them fell asleep at the same time, they would meet in this room and according to her, this would continue until the spice was out of his system. "So, another day without making love to your dear Lilliana?"

"I already told you that it's not going to happen! What happened that night was all a trick," he exclaimed. He didn't want to hear this all over again. She keeps insisting that he should sleep with Lilliana to release the spell of the spice and every time, he refused it.

"Believe what you like, but don't forget that succubus like me can see into your deepest desires," she said as she approached him.

"What you saw was a memory—,"

"Mon Lucifer, you're so stubborn. I don't know how anyone, especially Lilliana, can tolerate you. The truth is obviously right in front of you, and yet, you have the nerve to deny it."

"And how am I supposed to believe a demon? Your kind is known for manipulating the truth to fit your needs. You especially are guilty of this."

"I wouldn't exactly call showing what you truly desire 'manipulation'. I do admit that I know demons who do nothing but lie and cheat humans for fun, but I did what I did to feed, I promise. The more I talk to you, the more I get fascinated with you and your emotions for Lily. They're deeper than I initially suspected."

"And what does that mean?" he asked with his anger building. At times like this, he ready wished he had his Death Scythe, even if it was hard to navigate it in this small room.

"I'm trying to figure that out myself. I've been doing my own research, but to put it simply: your emotions go deeper than just the little fling during the exam." He sighed. At this point, it's like she was a broken record player: constantly trying to convince him that he had some repressed feelings for Lilliana, whether it was love or guilt. That seemed to change with every encounter. "Not like you would believe me, but there is a section of your memory that is actually clouded and even I can't see it clearly. Even repressed memories are no enigma for me, but this surprises me and that's where my fascination comes from."

"You're making no sense."

"Rightly so. If I figured out this mystery, I probably wouldn't be so fond of you. Not to mention, but you're also a Grim Reaper with deeper feelings than lust to another one of your kind. Usually, I merely see lust with a hint of an attachment, but you don't have that. Like I've said before, sex is more of an afterthought, or at least, it used to be before I came along."

"And I wish you never appeared and put that idea in my head. Nothing would have changed if it wasn't for you!" he said angrily, which she was used to. Though, it was still a bit shocking for her to see a stoic man show his emotions.

She took a deep breath and said, "So you wished to keep your feelings repressed? You'd let another person claim her instead of you? Now you know for sure that she's involved with Sebastian, but before then, you've always had an inkling and it made you a bit jealous. Even if I wasn't around, I'm sure you would have seen them together in that tent. She'd still be wearing that sexy outfit you seemed to like. Even without my influence, would you be able to control yourself?"

"Of course I would! I did it once and I can keep doing it," he blurted out, but as he heard his own words, he got quiet.

Eris smirked a bit. "If I looked into your memories accurately, Lilliana ate a piece of chocolate too, didn't she? Though, I haven't seen her here once."

"She has an unusual sleep schedule. I doubt you two would have synced up."

"Or she has already exhausted it out her system. I wonder who was the lucky one to help her out. It's a good chance it was dear old Bassy, but it could always be someone else. If you acted on your impulses like I told you, it could have been you."

"Shut up," he yelled as he pushed her against a wall with enough force to shake the room a bit. "As much as I disapprove of it, I cannot do anything to stop her from getting close to that demon. If she didn't have blackmail on me, I may have reported her and sent her back to . . . ," he said as slowly stopped his sentence.

"Rehabilitation? Yes, I'm quite aware of the tortures," she said with a defiant face. "I saw it in Lilliana's eyes for a brief moment. It was a traumatizing experience for her, which I'm sure you figured out. It's the only reason why she's keeping to the rules as she is."

"You have a very annoying habit of nosing around people's memories and emotions," he said, but being so close to her, not to mention, her chest kept rising with every heavy breath she took, started to activate the spice. Sporadically, he had the urge to take her and had to let her go to control himself.

"It's getting stronger, isn't it?" she asked, fully knowing the answer.

"What?"

"The spice. It just activated, non? Even something as simple as being close to a woman triggered it. That's not good."

"And I suppose the only cure is to sleep with Lilliana, right? That's what you keep telling me," he barked back.

She sighed. "It doesn't necessarily have to be her. I didn't want to tell you this since this could ruin my little experiment, but at this point, the spice might do that instead. I hoped you sleeping with Lilliana could possibly clear up that cloudy memory, but it's not like I would be able to see you in the foreseeable future to confirm my theory." She got up in his face, despite the fact he was still trying to hold back his urges. "In order to release the spice, you need to sleep with _anyone_ , not just her. Masturbation could help relieve the urge, but after a while, you'll need to ejaculate multiple times to feel the same effect. As stoic as you are, I figured Lilliana would be your best chance since she understands your situation and had to deal with the effects herself. Unfortunately for you, she doesn't need you to get her fix."

"And the longer this spice stays in me?"

"The less control you'll have over it. At first, it'll be triggered by little stimulation, but eventually, the urges will be so uncontrollable that you might force yourself on someone. Some might take it as a threat to keep quiet, like our sweet Katia, or some might be excited to be intimate with you, like our scandalous Grell." The thought of being intimate with Grell made him shiver in disgust. And with Katia, he would feel awful if he forced himself on her, especially when there was already tension between them. He could not have that on his conscience. "And I doubt you would want to force yourself on Lilliana, but like I said earlier, she would understand that it's not fully you in control."

He really did have limited options. "I-I'm going to talk to Lilliana about this. She'll have a solution to this since she is associated with your kind."

"I'm not so sure how much of a solution she'll have that's different from mine. It's possible that she didn't know Sinful Spices existed until this whole scenario happened," she said as she walked away from him, but soon, a door appeared. "At least consider what I said. She's your safest choice. Who knows, you two might find something new about yourselves. Until then, au revoir," she said with a dainty wave before exiting through that door.

* * *

"William, William," Katia's said within his office. She was shaking him gently, hoping he would wake up, which he eventually did. Thank gods, he was out of that nightmare. "William, if you were that tired, you should have gone home."

"I-I'm fine. I was finishing up the file, but I must have fallen asleep accidentally. I apologize," he said with a tired voice.

"Ah, well, I have the rest of the paperwork done. Finally, we can be done with this case," she said with a soft smile.

"Yes, we can finally put this behind us," he said as he extended his arm to take the paperwork from her hands, but he accidentally brushed against them. She blushed as she pulled them back quickly when he got a good grip on the paper and he stared at her for a bit. The spice was activated yet again, but he started to see Katia in a different light. This helpless girl, who acted innocent around him and others. He wondered what secrets her mind guarded and maybe playing with her body would release them. He just needed to—

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

He came back into reality and shook his head to both answer her and regain himself. "No, I was just thinking about how good it would feel to not have to deal with overtime for a while."

"I agree. Hopefully there won't be another big case in a while."

"Be careful what you ask for. You might jinx it."

"Well, maybe you can assign other Reapers instead."

"I'm sorry to say, but you're the most reliable and available Reaper we have. I would never assign you a case like this on your own, but you will be assigned to more complicated cases in the future until you complete your mission."

"Oh well. I guess I should be heading home before Grell gets worried about me again. I'll see you tomorrow and make sure you get plenty of sleep, all right?" she said as she left his side and closed the door.

William sighed in relief. If she stayed any longer, he feared for her safety. Eris was right: the urges were getting stronger. Before, he never thought of her like this, but now, he was even considering raping her. He needed this spice out of him now and, sadly, only Lilliana and Eris had a solution. He hoped it won't be as humiliating as Eris suggested. Still, he wondered if Lilliana would be willing to help him in that way if needed. He figured if she did, she would be detached about it, which pained him a little. He didn't know why, but all he knew was that he had to take care of himself when he got home and hoped he could relieve this even if it was only temporary. How shameful.

* * *

"I couldn't tell at first since I was hastily pushed in here, but I thought I recognized my niece in her little maid outfit," Jeremy said. He observed Lilliana's shocked expression and smiled. "What's the matter? Aren't you happy to see your uncle?"

"I-I—," she stuttered, not knowing what to say, but he tried to help her out.

"I might understand your reluctance. We were never on the best of terms. You still have your father's free-spirit, unfortunately."

"Now just hold on a second! How the hell can the niece of a vicar be a maid?! Even if she fell from grace, that is still quite the contrast in social class," Charles said, still trying to piece everything together concerning the new thirteenth member. They looked at her, hoping she'll be able to answer, but she still had none.

"I think it'll be best if I cleared the air," Jeremy said and all eyes turned to him. "The young lord and I hoped to keep this a secret until I eventually found her a husband to marry her off to, but it can't be helped. Her father, my brother, was always the rebellious one and refused to take on the work that our father blessed upon us. Unfortunately for us, after he passed away, my brother completely broke away from the church when he fell in love with a woman he met in France and decided to stay in her homeland. I was furious at him, but never wished him any ill will. Sadly, her parents were killed in a tragic accident, leaving behind a niece that I never knew of until their funeral."

"How awful," Irene said in a sad voice.

"It was. Since he never spoke of his family in England, the locals nearly put her in an orphanage until I said I would take her in. Though, I'm not sure which would have been better. When she was younger, she was nothing but trouble: sneaking out of the house, getting kicked out of boarding school after boarding school, and even public drunkenness. I would understand her behavior some time after losing her parents, but this persisted long after. Her reputation was so horrible that people in the parish believed that she may have been influenced by devils."

"Of course religious people would automatically assume that demons are involved in behavior they don't agree with," Lilliana finally said to confirm his story and out of her own bias. "Go on, uncle. Keep telling them how I ended up here," she said with a little bite in her voice.

Jeremy smirked subtly. "As you wish. When she grew older, I figured the only way to get her out of my hair was to marry her off, but sadly, her reputation proceeded her and men were scared to even court her. I had one suitor say that having her join his family would bring shame and misfortune to them. I was getting desperate, but one day, I received a phone call from the Earl saying that she had trespassed on his property. I was mortified and came as soon as I could to bring her back home, but after venting my frustrations to him, he proposed a solution to change her behavior: she would become his maid until we found her a husband. I was promised that they would teach her valuable marital skills while also fixing her problematic behavior. He said that many eligible bachelors visit him and if he found one that could handle her rowdiness, then we would both give a dowery for him to marry her."

"A prison sentence, if you ask me," she said with crossed arms. "All you've done is send me from one prison to another. I'm sure marrying a man who acts more like my warden than my husband will be no different."

Mey-Rin had a realization. "So that's why she's so against marriage."

"We wouldn't be in this mess if you would have just behaved. I gave you many opportunities to create the noble identity that your father once threw away. Be grateful that the young lord gave us the chance to be out of each other's hair or else you would have been another victim to Bedlam," Jeremy said as he got in her face about it. The guests were feeling uncomfortable with the family feud they weren't expecting to endure.

"That's all and good, but we still have a mystery to solve. This man could have been the only one who could have committed all three murders and he has no alibi. We can't trust him just because he's a vicar," Woodley exclaimed. "And it doesn't help that he's related to the most suspicious person here and gave us a testimony against her character."

"Unfortunately, that is utter nonsense, Mr. Woodley," he said.

He gasped. "How do you know my name?!"

"That ring you're wearing gives the game up, I'm afraid. A diamond so large and of such a distinct cut leads to but one conclusion. You see, the 'round brilliant cut' can only be achieved with new equipment recently developed by the Woodley Company. And I hear the London gem dealer Daniel Anderson has been describing it as a rarity not available on the open market. So, out of all the guests that Lord Phantomhive invited to his dinner party, it would make the most sense that Karl Woodley would possess such a singular ring. I am not mistaken, am I?" Woodley was shocked and grew quiet, impressing the rest of the guests. "Human observation has become a hobby of mine, so I apologize if it troubles you."

"If we can move on, how did you come here? For that matter, _why_ did you come here?" Arthur said, asking the questions everyone had on their minds among other things.

"Bursting with questions, aren't we? I guess it can't be helped. You there, sir with the cigarette and goggles, set my bag down and open it," he said, addressing Baldroy. He did as told and carefully opened his briefcase, but inside was nothing usual: it was a owl, but not any owl.

"Oh! That's the owl Lilliana gave me!" Mey-Rin exclaimed.

"I've drugged him to keep him asleep during our travels. If you would so kindly take a look at the letter, my lord." Ciel did as told and knelt carefully to the sleeping bird and took off the letter attached to its leg. He took some time to read, but quickly crinkled the paper.

"Of course he would do this," he said with a bit of annoyance in his voice. "Evidently, he arranged for the owl to carry this note to Jeremy because he somehow predicted misfortune would fall upon him."

"As far as I'm concerned, it doesn't matter what's in that bit of paper. It isn't enough to prove he's not our killer," Grimsby said.

"Perhaps if you inspect my coat pocket, it may ease your mind," Jeremy said. "Darling niece, if you would be helpful—,"

"Yeah, yeah, I got it," she said rather rudely. Luckily, once she got a good idea of her backstory, she could easily improvise. She reached into his pocket and pulled out a box office ticket. "Figures you would go see a play, but what more important is the date." However, after scanning the ticket, she let out a sigh.

"What's wrong?" Finny asked innocently.

"It's for the 12 of March in the evening. Additionally, it's at the Lyceum Theater, a good two hour ride from here," she said in disappointment. She really wanted to find some dirt on him.

"What was the show?" Irene asked.

"'The Lady in the Lake'," Jeremy answered. "It was quite a lovely performance."

"That's right. When you've been in the theater world long enough, you are knowledgeable about shows, even outside your production," Irene said, feeling happy she was of some use.

"By the time the show was over, it was past ten o'clock. Even if I'd given the driver a sovereign, the trip here would have taken two hours by hansom cab, or even twice that long in this storm," he said.

"Getting a cab in this storm is almost impossible. With the river flooded, you wouldn't be able to cross unless you had some very strong horses," Lilliana said.

"A fair point, but there are many ways to the manor besides the main roads. Knowing that the storm will cause some disruption, I figured the less-used paths would prove less cumbersome and I was right."

There was silence in the room, but she broke it by saying, "So you happened to save your ticket to prove you were there?"

"I thought it was a very-well done production, so I kept the ticket as a momento. I would hope that my niece wouldn't think of me so ill. After all, if you're the most suspicious person in the room, then why are you trying so hard to incriminate someone? That would make you even more suspicious, wouldn't it?" She kept quiet and he smiled. "I've given you enough evidence to clear myself of any wrongdoing. Perhaps you could untie me and I can provide some assistance to your problem."

Despite the suspicious timing, they had to trust him just as much as they trusted the others, especially since he provided evidence of his innocence. The servants untied him and Arthur began to disclose all the information they had so far. Right now, Jeremy was just as trusted as Arthur, if not more so, which some found hard to believe. Still, the hardest thing to believe was that not even a family member could vouch for Lilliana's character, which caused some to make theories about why she killed them. Siemens was a flirt and was hitting on all the women, so it's possible that if he was drunk enough, he would want to keep her in his manor if he paid the right price, so she had to prevent him from doing so. Phelps was a young man that Jeremy might have liked if he met him, so she would have to get rid of him. And for Sebastian, it was hard to say. There would be no reason for Jeremy to allow the two of them to get married if she was supposed to be married to nobility and Sebastian had no real authority to force her into that life.

"And there you have it," Arthur said.

"This is most intriguing indeed. If I may, I would like to inspect the bodies for further investigation," Jeremy requested.

"That shouldn't be a problem. I'll take you to the wine cellar—," Arthur tried to say before he was interrupted.

"I'd like to ask a favor from you. Carry each body to a separate room before I conduct my examination. Smells are frequently of the utmost importance in solving a case. If the bodies are kept together, their scents will intermingle and a wine cellar smells strongly of wine. We want only the scent to be that of the mystery we must solve."

"Very well, then. We'll proceed as you advise. Carry the corpses to three separate rooms," Ciel ordered.

"As you wish, master," the four servants answered and were about to leave, but stopped when Jeremy continued to talk.

"It would be a relief to change out of this wet clothing."

"You—There should be some clothing in my late butler's room that will suit you," Ciel responded. "Lilliana, please escort him there."

"Yes, my lord," she said with a hint of bitterness in her tone.

"Her taking orders with no resistance? My lord, you perform miracles," Jeremy said in a jovial tone.

"Just pray I don't serve your food," she said in a soft tone that anyone around her could hear before the two of them left the group. When they reached Sebastian's room, she told him as she opened the door, "You could have given me a little warning, you bastard."

"Then I'd miss your superb improvisational skills," he said as he entered and immediately walked to the wardrobe.

"At least give me something that I can use to rid everyone of their suspicion. Thanks to you, I have even more darts on my back to worry about. One thing goes wrong and I'll be the one in jail."

"I highly doubt it. You always had a knack for getting out of trouble," he said as he came out in Sebastian's usual tuxedo.

"I'm glad it fits," she said in a snarky tone and all he did was smile.

* * *

"Now then, I shall examine each corpse in order according to the time of their death," Jeremy said as they returned to the group.

"In that case, you'll want to look at Herr von Siemens first," Arthur said.

"Excellent! I'll be coming, too," Charles said in a happy tone.

"Very well. If you don't mind, I'd like the young lord and Lilliana to accompany us, since they have been deemed the most likely to commit any murder due to their alibis, or lack thereof. It is possible that seeing the bodies again will trigger some type of reaction that could incriminate them," Jeremy said. The two were confused, but agreed. The five of them proceeded to the room with Siemens's corpse and Jeremy quickly got to work examining the body. "There's only the one external injury. A single blow with a blade that was quite sharp. Hmm, and I see he was overfond of drink. A nasty habit," he said as he pulled out Siemens's pocket watch.

"And how did you suss that out?" Charles asked.

"This Lange pocket watch is an item of considerable value, but there are scratches all around the keyhole. Only a man who was very careless or drunk would leave such marks. Then, of course, there the rather strong smell of alcohol. He had a stiff drink shortly before his death. However . . . ," he said before inhaling the air deeply. "I think I detect a faint whiff of the sea."

"The sea? What are you, mad?" Lilliana said.

"Nope, just knowledgeable of certain scents. Good sir, do you have a handkerchief?" he asked Arthur, who quickly gave him one. However, he would soon regret that as Jeremy soon stuffed the handkerchief in Siemens' mouth so he could get a better idea of the scent. "I'm much obliged," he said before returning it to Arthur, but he almost wish he just kept it. "Now, Mr. Phelps is next on the list, I believe."

The five of them headed toward Phelps's room and once again, Jeremy was quick to investigate. "As you can see, he was killed in a vastly different manner than the other two. I suspect he was injected with something poisonous into his neck," Arthur explained. Honestly, the way he was presenting the case made him seem like a neurotic Abberline, which Lilliana found a bit amusing.

"May I see the room in which the murder took place?" Jeremy asked and they all obliged.

On the way to Ciel's chambers, the four of them were having a small chat to both ease tension and to express lingering thoughts. "We're lucky to have a sharp observer like Jeremy on hand. He may well notice something we've missed in our own investigations," Arthur said.

"Lucky for you, perhaps," Lilliana said before turning around and noticing he wasn't there. "Hey, where is that old geezer?"

"Are you still with us?" Ciel yelled and like magic, Jeremy appeared with his handkerchief out, wiping away sweat.

"Ah, do excuse me. I'm a touched winded," he said with an innocent and apologetic smile.

"This is the problem with the elderly," Charles said bluntly before he continued his walk.

"I let you borrow my handkerchief because I thought you didn't have one!" Arthur said in astonishment. Lilliana couldn't help, but chuckle a bit, but the group made their way to Ciel's chamber. As before, Jeremy conducted his investigation.

After a while, he made his report. "I can conclusively say that there are multiple guilty parties. Apprehending Herr von Siemens's killer should present little difficulty, but capturing the one responsible for Mr. Phelps's death may be more complicated. Capture him we must, and with some haste, before any more life's can be lost. However, it will require two things: we must wait for nightfall and I will require the assistance of the young Earl."

"Wait, _my_ assistance?" Ciel asked in confusion.

"Yes. I'll explain everything this evening."

"I can hardly wait, it in the meantime, the butler's next. Shall we be off?" Charles said as he immediately started walking out of the room. The others followed suit, but most of them did not like being kept in the dark, while only a select few knew the truth.

Once they reached Sebastian's room, Jeremy asked for clarification, "I believe you said that he was fatally stabbed after receiving a blow to the head. I'll just take a closer look." He knelt down and removed the sheet, but Ciel suddenly felt shock coursing through his body. Arthur and Charles looked his direction to make sure he was all right while Lilliana made sure to have her attention on both the body and the young lord.

"Is something wrong, my lord? You look pale," Arthur said with genuine concern while Charles seemed to be annoyed by the young brat.

"I apologize. I'm finding it tries my nerves to keep seeing Sebastian's body like this," Ciel said as he crouched close to him.

"It is a grievous loss. There's no need to apologize."

"What? Where was this reaction earlier when you were casually undressing his body?" Charles said in confusion.

However, he would never get his answer as Jeremy pulled back the sheet to cover the body. "There. I'm all finished here. The butler's cause of death was simple indeed."

"You're done with him already?" Lilliana asked as she walked closer to him.

"Yes, I've seen enough to get a full picture."

"Oh, look at that! It's almost time for dinner," Charles said as he casually started walking out of the room. "I shall see you all downstairs."

"Why don't you two join him. There's something I must discuss with my niece and then I shall join you for tonight's festivities," Jeremy said, noticing she had a disappointed look on her face. "If it makes you feel any better, it is not concerning marriage or your attitude."

"I guess I have no choice," she mumbled.

"Well then, we shall see you tonight then," Arthur said as the two left their presence and the relatives headed the opposite way. However, unexpectedly, Charles rushed back to the room at full speed, catching everyone by surprise. He quickly opened the door and immediately pulled off the cover, thinking something wasn't right, but his suspicions were wrong: Sebastian's body was still there.

"Surely it couldn't be," he said to himself.

"Is something the matter?" Lilliana said from the doorframe. Charles looked at her and then back at the body.

"Nothing. I just found it a little suspicious that Jeremy didn't take long to investigate this body like the others."

"Well, there's not much to investigate. There are wounds on his head and chest, which even you saw when we undressed him."

"His chest . . . right," he said before he walked up to the Sebastian's face and stomped on it, making her gasp and cover her mouth.

"It might not be my place to say, but that was uncalled for," she said through her hand.

"I just had to prove something to myself. And aren't you supposed to with your uncle?" he asked as he started walking toward her, or really, pass her.

"I was, but I saw you rush here and had to make sure things were all right. That's what Phantomhive servants do, after all."

"Well you better go back to him, unless you want to kill me too."

"Quick to assume as always," she said as she exited the room behind him and closed the door.

* * *

Despite having a low supply of food, the servants managed to pull off a meal fit for nobility and huge stomachs like Charles thanks to Jeremy's help. Despite being a soy product, everyone believed it to be real meat and the herbs added in it helped suppress Charles appetite, even if he still ate multiple plates. However, the peaceful dinner would return to its usual tension as Jeremy said, "Now that our bellies are full, I suppose it's time to tell you all my deductions. However, first, I must require the earl's assistance if he'll be so kind."

"What is it you need me to do?" Ciel asked.

"Oh, not much, my young lord. Simply undress," he said nonchalantly.

"P-Pardon?!"

"I can't explain everything at the moment since I want to test my hypothesis, but I do suspect that the murderer will strike again tonight in the young lord's chambers. Also, I will require the assistance of someone who has the quick reflexes to attack our murderer before they can strike."

"Oh, my little Ran-Mao may be the perfect candidate for you. She has a true fighting spirit unmatched by anyone. Isn't that right?" Lau said and she nodded.

"Excellent. She is even the perfect height to fool our adversary. Now, I will also require the assistance of Mr. Grey to apprehend the suspect once he is distracted. If they get too violent, I give him full permission to strike them down, but not kill. We need to have a witness."

"On it," he said.

"As for the rest of you, I'd like you to stay outside the chamber for your safety. We don't want any collateral damage because of this."

"Of course," Grimsby said. "I just hope this works."

"Well this is all we _can_ do since he won't tell us much else," Woodley said in a disgruntled tone.

The groups proceeded toward Ciel's chambers, where Ciel, with the help of Lilliana, removed his clothes and was instructed to give them to Ran-Mao. Jeremy, Charles, Lilliana, and Jeremy waited in a corner in the room while Ran-Mao was instructed to get into Ciel's bed and pretend to sleep. The rest of the group waited in Woodley's room close to his bed chambers and patiently awaited the news. Arthur blew out the candles so the room could be dark and they waited. After a while, the group started to get impatient, but soon, their adrenaline shot up as they heard a slithering sound in the room and it was definitely not coming from them. How did they get in? The door wasn't opened and there were no footsteps. All of the sudden, Jeremy yelled, "Now!" In no time, she kicked the cover so it would trap the murder as they landed on the floor.

"I have them!" Charles said as he pulled out his sword and tried to slice the blanket, but was stopped by Lilliana with a candlestick. "What are you doing—,"

"Thank you, Lily," Jeremy said as he quickly walked toward the cover and made it impossible for the killer to escape.

"I told you not to call me that," she said angrily.

Jeremy only smirked in the darkness and continued, "I only requested your help, Mr. Grey, if our attacker tried to fight back, but fortunately for us, they haven't." Arthur quickly lit a candle so the room could have light and walked to the cover. Jeremy careful removed it and they were all surprised to see their identity: a snake. Jeremy was quick to grab it by the throat and tail and gently tie it in a knot to not harm the animal, but also prevent it from escaping.

"Well this is unexpected," Lilliana said.

"I'm relieved it's not one of us, but that's even more unnerving that this was slithering around the household the whole time," Arthur said with shivers down his spine.

"Well now that we have our culprit in custody, it's time to alert the others, don't you agree?" Jeremy said as he held onto the snake carefully, but the threatening hissing was terrifying Arthur, who was quick to agree and leave. However, as they left, they noticed that Lilliana seemed to be hissing at the snake back, which naturally seemed rather odd to them.

The group joined the rest of the party and, as expected, they were terrified by the snake, who now seemed to act calmer than in the bedroom. "A black mamba, native to Southern Africa, has venom that contains potent neurotoxins," Lilliana said, "The true killer gave it a whiff of the earl's scent and trained it to kill based on that."

"And how exactly do you know this?" Woodley said in shock.

"What? Can't a servant just know about potential threats that could afflict the young lord? I just tend to focus on toxins since my father aspired to be a doctor, but never reached that goal sadly," she said with some sadness in her voice.

"Seems like a convenient cover-up, if you ask me," Charles said.

"We literally have the killer in my uncle's hands and you have the nerve to still suspect me?" she said with her anger boiling a bit, but she stayed calm so her eyes didn't turn red.

"You said it yourself: the _true killer_ trained it to attack."

"Regardless, in the end, a snake is a snake. It could follow the Earl's scent to his bed, but couldn't know whether the human in that bed was indeed the Earl," Jeremy explained.

"I realize how incredible it must sound, but the creature really did attack Ms. Ran-Mao when she was wearing the Earl's clothes," Arthur said. "That indicates the killer was unaware that Lord Phantomhive was sleeping elsewhere."

"And Patrick Phelps unfortunately paid the price," Ciel said with a bit of melancholy.

"The effects of long training are not easily cast aside. I set a trap, expecting its return, and I was correct," Jeremy said as he placed the snake in a vase with a heavy lid nearby to get it off his hands. "And by putting my coat on the tiny lord's body, it helped mask his scent so it wouldn't go elsewhere."

"You always say at least one word too many, don't you?" Ciel said in his normal voice, but keen eyes like Lilliana and Jeremy's could tell he was frustrated and they chuckled a bit.

"What I'd like to know is how the snake got into the country at all," Arthur said, "As far as I'm aware, it's illegal to carry poisonous snakes on trade ships."

"I'd wager that it was smuggled in. The simplest way to accomplish it would be to pay someone off who owns a freighter," Lau said. It was nice to here him contribute something useful once in a while.

"That may be, though, given where the snake originates, it would have to be someone who does business in Africa," Ciel said.

"What are England's main imports from Africa? . . . Gold and diamonds, I suppo—," Arthur said, but stopped himself when he, along with the rest of the group had a realization. All eyes turned to Woodley, who was stunned by the unspoken accusation.

"Now hold on a moment! It wasn't me! What about Kunlun? They're a trading company!" he yelled.

"Yes we are," Lau said, "But our business never takes us to the African continent."

"Still, having some connections in Africa isn't enough to prove that Mr. Woodley is a murderer," Charles defended, much to everyone's surprise. He was usually the first to jump on the accusatory bandwagon.

"And yet the young lord and I are prime suspects for having less evidence against us," Lilliana said in a snarky tone.

"That's right! Neither of you had valid alibis. I have one when Her von Siemens was murdered, if you recall," Woodley said in a frantic tone.

"Ah yes, but that alibi may be meaningless. The corpse the servants found when they broke down the door wasn't a corpse after all," Jeremy explained. Everyone was shocked at this piece of information, wondering how the hell that was possible. "For those of you who are familiar with _Romeo & Juliet_, there is a scene in which Juliet drinks a certain potion that made her seem dead-like, but was very much alive. Well, thanks to the scientific discover of tetrodotoxin, the potion now exists. If they are refined a certain way, the toxin could simulate death just like in our tragic love story."

"I believe I've heard of it before. It's the toxin found in octopi and pufferfish," Arthur contributed.

Jeremy nodded. "As some of you may recall, I detected a scent of the sea while examining the body. It likely came from a pufferfish-based poison. Now this raises a new question for us: why would I smell poison on a person who was stabbed?"

"Because it was a ruse," Lilliana said. "If what you're saying is true, then Her von Siemens faked a chest wound, drank the poison, disposed the container, and pretended to die. None of us really examined the chest wound closely, especially since the room was very dark. Still, that doesn't explain why he would have a real chest wound when we examined it closely."

"He meant to fake his own murder and then was actually killed? What rotten luck," Lau said in a tone that was somehow both joking and serious.

"Given how things played out, the killer may have been setting a trap for the Earl. It's not clear whether Herr von Siemens was a knowing accomplice, but perhaps the real killer sold it to him as a practical joke, suggesting that it would give everyone a good fright," Arthur hypothesized.

"It's possible. He and I never met before the party, so he wouldn't have anything against me," Ciel added, "I think we can therefore assume he was used and then silenced by someone who wanted to incriminate me."

"Indeed, and who would want to do that?" Jeremy said before he looked back to Woodley.

"Wait, anyone could have put him up to it, not just me! This makes everyone's alibi worthless! What about that maid! Sure, she is no longer suspect for Phelps's murder, but it's very possible she killed the butler and Siemens around the same time while wandering the halls all one! She even has some knowledge of poisons!"

"I have already considered the possibility, but when I questioned her in private, she was just as convinced as the rest of you that he was stabbed. As I was told, during the dinner party, he was the type to lose control when he drank and even tried to get handsy with her and the other women. It would seem like a motive to some, but that wouldn't make her any more guilty than the others who were affected by his drinking. As for the poison, it would be very unlikely for a maid to have the access to obtain ingredients for it, even less so the finished product. And lastly, my niece may be many things, but she is _not_ a murderer. No level of animosity would drive her to not only murder, but also to frame the young lord for said murder," Jeremy vouched. Lilliana was actually shocked that he would come to her defense like that, but she smiled nonetheless.

"She may not have a strong motive, but we are still neglecting something: how did Herr von Siemens dispose of the bottle after he drank it? Surely we would have seen it when we cleared out his room," Charles said.

"That's simple; he tossed it somewhere we wouldn't immediately see it: the fireplace," Ciel said.

"That fire was burning particularly bright, like it had a lot of fuel," Baldroy said.

"With the fire, he could easily hide the evidence and the killer could then return to collect it when our attention was elsewhere," Arthur said.

"But he was prevented from doing just that," Lilliana said. "The last time I saw him, Sebastian was on his way to clean out that fireplace, possibly to find any evidence that we neglected at the time, but it seems he was there at the wrong time."

"That bottle alone could suggest the truth of the crime and the murderer would lose his alibi along with the others. So when he saw the butler trying to find it, he panicked and killed him. He then collected the bottle from the fireplace and hid it in his room," Arthur said.

"If that's the case, then whoever killed him must have the bottle and I have no such object in my possession! You've already searched my room for both evidence and that key, remember?" Woodley exclaimed.

"Yes, we searched everywhere in this room, except the fireplace," Ciel said smugly.

"Utter nonsense! I don't have it, I tell you!"

"That should be easy enough to settle! Let's take a look," Grimsby said as he walked to the fireplace, grabbed a fire-pick, and spread around the ashes. In no time, they found something unusual: tiny glass shards.

"That's still not proof. We can't tell what they were from. It could easily be a glass that he accidentally broke, but didn't wish to disclose," Arthur defended surprisingly.

"We'll be able to if we put them back together," Jeremy said as he walked up to the fireplace and bent down to collect the shards.

"Sorry? We can't possibly; the shards are too small—," Arthur said, but he grew quiet when he saw Jeremy miraculously put the shards back into their original form perfectly: an ampoule for some type of drug. Everyone turned back to Woodley, who couldn't believe what was happening.

"No! I've never seen that before, I swear!"

"You framed a child for a grimly murder? That's despicable," Arthur said.

"Why would I do that?!"

"Diamonds," Ciel interjected. "The Rhodes Company is the largest in the diamond industry. There was a highly secret plan in place for them to start a jewelry venture along with my own company. If it planned out as expected, Mr. Woodley's company was sure to see a drop in sales. A few days ago, however, the Rhodes Company president was murdered and the plan was temporarily suspended. I'd assume you wanted to kill me before the venture could go forward. Quite a shoddy plan, when you think about it."

"You must believe me! I'm innocent! I'm the one who is being framed! It's him, he's responsible! He's the Queen's guard—," Woodley tried to say, but was silenced when Charles's sword was placed near his throat.

"That will be enough! You can have your say when you've been safely put in a cell," he said threateningly. Woodley knew better than anyone just how happy he is to use his sword.

"Stop! I'm not the one you want! Please, I honestly didn't do this!" Woodley pleaded.

"Save your breath. I'm not interested. I find I'm in a particularly foul mood."

"So this is what it's like to have all the evidence pile up against you and you become the main suspect. The only difference is that I didn't actually kill anyone," Lilliana said before Woodley was handcuffed and taken to a different room with Charles. Everyone felt relieved and overjoyed that the mystery was finally over and that they were safe from being murdered. To congratulate them, the storm even cleared up and moonlight shined on the manor. To celebrate, everyone shared the drink Irene had that Mey-Rin mistaken for blood. In reality, it was just an anti-aging red parrilla extract that also helped relieve exhaustion, which they all desperately needed.

* * *

 ** _What's left of this murder party? Has justice been served? How will Lilliana and William's conversation play out? Reviews are appreciated!_**


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